


The Leftovers

by LizRambler



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 65,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23206201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizRambler/pseuds/LizRambler
Summary: Rose Tyler leaves the Metacrisis behind but not alone. She's left instructions for a clone of herself to be created. The only problem is the new Rose Tyler didn't get the memories of the old one like the original planned.
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 121
Kudos: 94





	1. Phoenix

What she remembered most afterward was the taste of the liquid. She could never eat soup without thinking of it, viscous and salty, pressing in on her. 

Eyes open, she was staring out into a room distorted by blue liquid with bits of stuff floating in it. Lights were flickering from green to amber to red. Suspended in hot brine or chicken broth, she thought this can’t be good. Her heart raced, slamming over and over again into her ribcage as if it were desperately trying to rip its way free. A thick plastic piece was jammed into her mouth like a gag. Her tongue worked around the hard plastic, attempting to push it out. She wanted to scream. She needed to scream. Oxygen was rushing into her lungs from a cannula in her nose. It fed her oxygen but she couldn’t use it to cry out for help.

Where am I?! Where the hell am I?! Why am I in here?!

She thrashed, her hands coming up against the glass. The liquid squished between her fingers. It felt so alien. Had she been abducted by aliens? Oh god, oh god, her tongue pressed again and again to the mouthpiece. The seal around it broke. The thick salty taste slipped into her mouth, choking her. No, no no! That wasn’t what she wanted! She didn’t want to drown! She kicked helplessly. 

Alarms erupted around her. The salty gross liquid pushed further into her mouth, hitting her tongue, sloshing against the back of her throat and tearing down her esophagus. She gulped reflexively but more followed. All the lights were red now. She screamed soundlessly. The plastic was blocking the bubbles, making everything terrifyingly worse. 

Help. Help me. Help. God! Help!!!

A hand slapped against the glass, shocking her. It was large with thin long fingers, man’s hand. The glass was cold as she splayed her own hand against the glass. 

Get me out! 

She slapped the glass. The man’s hand pounded on the outside. One large brown eye peered at her, mouthing words she couldn’t hear before a high pitched sound joined the blaring alarms. The edges of her vision were fuzzing out. Her lungs were twin oceans. A crack appeared in the thick glass.

The crack radiated outward in rings. Scared, she reached both hands out to the man on the other side. Blue light haloed around his right hand. She wanted to scream! She wanted to fight. She kicked. Noises muffled by the water burst into rushing waters, screaming alarms and glass slamming into the metal floor as the tube exploded. She fell out in a rush of soup and crashed into the man’s body. 

He was a solid wall or more like a pole, thin enough for her hands to reach around, gripping in a frantic hug, clinging. The piece in her mouth was holding the water in. Alarms shot lancing pain through ears as the liquid dribbled out of them. Everything was a million times brighter outside the tube. Her skin was on fire from the air. She was still drowning.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear.

She thrashed, desperate for oxygen. His fingers scrabbled for purchase on her slick naked flesh, catching a hip to hold her in place as his other hand, the one that had touched the glass, ripped the cannula out of her nose. Oxygen flooded into her nose but stopped at her esophagus until he pulled the mouthpiece out and tossed it away. Her reaction was instant. She spewed gunk all over him. 

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Heaving it up, over and over again, she tried to stop while he patted her back, murmuring words of comfort. Embarrassment turned her cold cheeks into hot spots. The man wasn’t concerned. He was in a nice suit and he was laughing as she spit up globs of salty soup all over the blue wool. A cry escaped her. Her body was shaking in relief as she dragged in ragged liquid-free breaths.

“You’re okay! You are! You’re a miracle,” the man exclaimed as the hand on her hip reached up to pull her into a proper hug. Tears were streaming down his face. He gripped her naked skin to filthy blue wool. “Rose Tyler, you could not be more impossible if you tried!” A short barking, “Ha!” escaped him. He ducked his head down to the space between her neck and her shoulder, shuddering. Was he crying? Who was he? 

“S’happening,” she croaked, throat scorched from the gross briny stuff. “Where--? Who am--?”

“Sh, sh, you’re fine! Don’t try to talk until I can get you some water. The nutrient bath isn’t meant for the inside of you, just the outside of you. Not that I’m surprised. Tylers don’t give a flying fig about rules.”

“Sorry,” she rasped, miserably.

He barked out another laugh. “Oh, You are better than fine, you’re fantastic! Right, explanations,” he began, “You’re in a super-secret base. It used to be a part of Torchwood. It’s not anymore. It’s part of...well, nevermind that now. You’re safe as houses.” 

She wasn’t sure about all that. She didn’t feel completely safe with all the noise and lights.

He pulled back to catch her eye. His eyes were teary. He was crying. Why was he crying? Had he hurt himself getting her out of the tube? She reached up to wipe one away causing fresh ones to appear. She brought both hands up to frame his face. He had a lovely expressive mouth. Her fingers touched sideburns, weird. His left brow was a bit more arched than the other giving him a quizzical expression. Oh, but the way his large melty dark chocolate eyes bored into her made her feel strange. She blinked her own tears away.

Her eyes darted away from the emotions swirling in his eyes. She searched the room. It was ruined. Large chunks of glass scattered across the ground like ice in a spilled drink. A bank of computers with red lights rushing up and down it like a wave was sparking, ruined. The alarms hurt her ears. He shifted, and the blue light lit up. The alarms cut off. She sagged against him in relief. The doors burst open. Men in black invaded the room, slipping on the brine with their guns drawn. She clutched at the man. 

He held her tight to him as he stood on long thin legs. She was swept up with and pushed behind him. “Come on,” he admonished. “We all know what this room is for, why would you need guns, Jakey-boy?”

The man with bleached blond hair lowered his gun, his eyes on her. “Jackie Tyler is going to be thrilled. And bloody furious! She’s not got any of her memories…”

The man cut him off. “She was drowning. The respirator failed. The nutrient bath isn’t breathable. I told you that was a flaw within the design, among other things. Luckily, I was monitoring. Now can you get this lot out of here? I don’t think Jackie Tyler would appreciate everyone ogling her very naked daughter.”

“She’s not--” the blond man called Jakey-Boy argued.

“She is,” the man insisted as he shrugged out of his ruined wool jacket and handed it to her without turning. Gratefully, she slipped into it. Her skin protested, sensitive to the scratchy wet fabric. The jacket fell to mid-thigh. She buttoned it. She stepped out from behind him to wide-eyed stares and whispers. The man reached out and wiggled his fingers. She slipped her hand into his, the warmth of his hand comforting. She shivered. 

The men in black retreated out of the room as a well dressed older woman with blonde hair burst into the room. She took a step back. The older woman froze her eyes going to the man before boring into her. She shouted, “Rose! Oh my God, sweetheart!” 

Rose. That was the second time she’d been called Rose. The man had said her name was Rose Tyler. She was called Rose Tyler. Nervously, she leaned into the man. He had rescued her. He felt safe. 

“Don’t you recognize me, sweetheart?” Jackie’s face was worried.

“M’sorry, no,” she croaked, her eyes darting to his. He smiled encouragingly. The woman’s face crumbled. Big tears leaked out of her eyes. A twisting pain rushed through Rose. Disappointing this woman was wrong. The man rubbed his thumb over her wrist in a calming motion. 

“The process failed,” he explained, emphasizing the word ‘failed’ in a way that made Rose squirm. What did that mean for her? “We talked about this. The technology is too new! It was cobbled together like some sort of Frankenstein’s monster! I warned you...And I was right. I had to get her out of the tank, Jackie. I had no choice. Rose was dying. She was drowning! I did warn you. I said this was an insane experiment.”

“You bastard,” Jackie hissed without malice. “Why couldn’t you be wrong, just once?”

The man wilted. “Oh, Jackie, I have never wanted to be wrong more in my entire lives! I’m so sorry. I couldn’t leave her in there long enough for the process to complete.”

“You mean, she may never remember me?” the woman wailed, the tears flowing freely. “Oh, sweetheart!”

Her guts kept twisting. An overwhelming urge to comfort this Jackie woman rushed up. She took a tentative step forward. The man didn’t stop her. He didn’t let her go either. He kept her fingers loosely trapped in his. “M’sorry… Please don’t cry. I can’t stand it if you cry.”

A significant look passed between the man and Jackie. Jackie reached out to cup Rose’s cheek. Warmth rushed through her. Her heart sped up. This was right. This woman was right. She was. She grunted as a sharp pain stabbed behind her eyes. The man responded instantly, pulling her back to his side and flashing his blue light in her eyes and sliding it down over her form like a magic wand.

“I want to take her home with me,” the man said, eyes crinkled with worry. 

“No! She’s my daughter! Me and Pete can see to her.” Jackie reached out for Rose’s hand. Rose was unsure. She gripped the man’s hand tighter. “Come on Rose, I can make your favorites. I can have your old room made up. It’ll be alright, sweetheart.”

“Jackie--”

“Alright, come with us then,” Jackie said to the man. “I won’t push. But I need her home.”

The man turned to her. “Your name is Rose Tyler. It’s okay if you don’t remember that. Don’t try. Okay? This woman is your mother. Her name is Jacqueline Suzette Andrea Prentice Tyler. You can call her mum or Jackie, alright?”

“‘Kay, alright, yeah, hi,” She replied, mechanically. 

“Hi,” Jackie echoed, smiling. She had beautiful cornflower blue eyes. She wondered if her eyes would match her mum’s? Did she look like this blonde woman?

“Who you are though?” she asked the man.

“Let’s get you home and into a hot bath. Then we can talk about me, alright?” he advised, keeping his voice soft. “If that’s alright with you? I don’t want to pressure you… I don’t have to stay with you, Rose. It’s just, after today well, I would feel better if I could be near you...”

A flush of terror ran through her at the idea of the man leaving her. She gripped hard enough to make him wince. He had saved her life. He was safe. She knew he was safe. “Yeah, think I want you near me.” She turned to Jackie Tyler, who-was-her-mother, “is-is that okay?”

“Yeah, he was never going to leave you, anyhow, sweetheart. He hasn’ changed that much. You tell him to go and he’ll just pine just out of view. He’s a sad puppy when he’s not with you. Ain’t that right, Doctor?” Jackie Tyler’s tone was fond and aggravated. Rose snorted. Both the man and Jackie smirked. “Now let’s get her a blanket. You’re shivering, darling.”

Jackie’s hand reached out and squeezed the man’s shoulder. “I told you. Didn’t I?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he agreed, shooting Rose a soft grin. Rose tingled. Who was this man to her?

“Next time, you better listen to me. I’m always right when it comes to my Rose,” Jackie muttered. “Jake, be a good boy and find us a blanket and a car, alright? I’m taking my daughter out of here.”


	2. Prawns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose tries to make sense of her new world.

The thing Jackie Tyler remembered the most was that the original Doctor was a complete and utter prawn.

They had all been on the Tardis, ecstatic. It was a party! They had saved the world, and she, Jackie Tyler had helped! She was a hero like her Rose. Sarah Jane had thought so too and that was wonderful on account of her being the best gossip columnist ever back on Pete’s World. Oh, she had seen her TV show too in the original universe back in the early 2000s. And Jackie reckoned if a reporter as great as Sarah Jane said you were a hero, then you were!

And then it was all over. The Doctor had dropped Sarah Jane, and Mickey, that lovely Martha Jones and that sexy rogue Captain Jack Harknass back off home. Then he’d gone over all funny, staring between Rose and the Blue One with big sad eyes. She hadn’t been surprised that her trip home was last. She was sticking close to Rose, knowing this was it for them. She was never going to see her daughter again. They’d discussed it. And after everything that had happened with Torchwood, it was best. Her Rose had changed. Pete’s World wasn’t safe for her anymore.

“What are you going to do with two of them?” Jackie asked, eying up the Blue One. He eyed her back, smirking a bit. She rolled her eyes at him. “Mind you, he’s a bit fresher I think.”

“You’ve never slapped that one,” Rose stage whispered, “makes him bold.” When the Blue One guffawed, Rose gave him a sad look and Jackie should have known. She just should have known. The Doctor was never going to have two of them. Only one of them could stay on the Tardis. She wasn’t dumb. And she knew something those Doctors didn’t.

“Oh, it’s going to kill him, Rose. You can’t.” Jackie whispered.

“I planned for this,” Rose said, eyes strangely unfocused. “He’ll go with you. Promise it’ll be fine.”

“How could anyone plan for this?”

“Mum, love you. Tell Pete to go ahead with Phoenix, if he hasn't already...” she kissed Jackie before heading over to the one in Brown, the original Doctor, to whisper something in his ear. He startled and Jackie knew the Blue One’s fate was decided, the poor sod. If it were her, she would have kept them both. He was always getting himself into scrapes… This way she’d have a spare… Plus two of them together were almost as wide as a normal man. But no one was going to listen to Jackie Tyler, what did she know? She’d only just helped save the universe. 

On the beach, she watched the two of them cuddling and tearing the Blue One’s heart out. Donna had hugged the Blue One tightly and slipped something into his pockets, no doubt. She was clever, that Donna. Jackie reckoned out of all the Doctors, she was the only one with any sense. Jackie had no time to see what it was before the Tardis was gone. The Blue One collapsed. 

Yeah, that brown one was a right prawn, maybe he and her daughter both.

“Is it alright if I call you Rose?” he asked, eyes on her. The attention made her feel funny, warm.

“Yeah, if it’s my name,” she agreed. 

“It is,” the blonde woman insisted.

She shrugged. “Yeah. You can call me Rose.” She needed a name after all and Rose sounded nice. It was easy to spell and she liked the way the man had said it earlier, sort of like he savored each syllable. “S’alright.” 

The car ride had been long. She was cold and itchy. The blonde, who-was-her-mother, Jackie, sat across just drinking her in. It was unnerving. Beside her, the tall thin man had folded himself into the car. He was sprawled across the leather seat like no one had ever taught him how to sit properly. He kept her hand in his, still loosely so she could pull away from him. She liked that. He was giving her the option, the choice. Everything was so out of control. She was lost and she knew what things were like cars, and clothes, and parents but she had no memories connected with them. She was empty of memories except for the last hour.

A mansion sprawled out before them. The lawn was a lush green thing that she loved walking on in her bare feet. It tickled the sensitive soles of her feet. She grinned. The man grinned back and swung their hands between them. 

“This is the Tyler Mansion,” he informed her. “You have a mother, Jackie, a father Peter Alan Tyler. He’s the one with a bit of ginger hair left, sort of tall and slim-ish. You have a small ginger brother named Tony, Anthony, but no one calls him that. He’s a bit much. We’ll save him until tomorrow, won’t we?” He gave Jackie a pointed stare.

“Yeah,” the blonde woman who-was-her-mother Jackie agreed. “He’s overnight at Bev’s anyhow. I’m not having him frightened by his sister coming home covered in glop.”

Rose was covered in glob. She smelled. She didn’t want to meet anyone right now. 

“Rose, do you want something to eat, love?”

Rose shrugged, voice raspy. “Don’t feel hungry. M’thirsty.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” the man added, “the nutrient bath was feeding you up right enough. You’ll be hungry soon. Water for now, Jackie. She’s never eaten or drunk anything...in awhile. We have to go slow.” He emphasized the word ‘slow.’

“Right, he’s a not even a proper doctor,” Jackie who-was-her-mother confided. “S’probably stolen a medical text once, read it and told everyone he was a doctor.”

“I went to Edinborough…” the man corrected. “Can I help it if my credentials are in my other jacket?”

She got the feeling they were not speaking plainly on purpose, obscuring truths. She frowned. Warm fingers squeezed hers as they entered the large foyer. She hissed as her feet hit the cold tile. A tall slim-ish man with some red hair stood still gawping. The man's description was accurate. This was Peter Alan Tyler, her father, a man she had never seen before in her life.

“I never thought it would work! Oh, sweetheart!” he chirruped.

“Pete, she doesn’t remember,” Jackie said, keeping her voice even. “The process…”

“Ah,” Pete who-was-her-father said, “the Doctor was right then. Damn. I thought Owen and Tosh had accounted for every variable. I’m sorry I doubted you, Doctor. Hello Rose. I’m Pete Tyler.”

Rose shook hands with the man-who-was-her-father. “Hello.”

A wave of exhaustion went through her. She sagged against the man. Both of the people-who-were-her-parents rushed forward. The man held them off. “She’s fine. She’s exhausted. She hasn’t walked this far--in a long while.” Meaningful looks flew between the three people. She huffed out a breath in frustration. 

“Right, we better get you rested then, eh, Rose?” Pete the man-who-was-her-father asked.

“I’ll take her for a bath,” Jackie the woman-who-was-her-mother said, reaching for her.

“No, I--” she clung to the man. “Can you?” She wasn’t sure how to articulate what she was feeling to them. The man was safe. She trusted him. He would never hurt her. Besides, he’d already seen her naked. “Please?”

More meaningful looks flew around the room. She didn’t care. She clutched at the man. Jackie who-was-her-mother dropped her head, defeated. Pete who-was-her-father stepped aside. The man scooped her up in a bridal carry, suit jacket, girl, blanket et al. She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heart, wondering why he only had the one… Seemed off somehow.

“So, Rose, I’m going to pop you down here.” She was dropped onto a closed toilet seat. “There’s a fairly large tub in here. I love a big tub. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m a lanky fellow. I get in a regular tub and there’s barely enough room for my toes let alone a rubber duck.” The water turned on. She watched him dump soap into the tub. The warm scent of cinnamon and sugar exploded into life. “Big tub like this and you can have a flotilla of ducks, an armada of ducks. That’s good, isn’t it?”

She made a noncommittal noise of agreement which was all he seemed to need to continue rambling. His voice soothed her jangled nerves. It was warm and rich, a good story-telling voice or lecturer. “Are you a teacher?”

“In a manner of speaking,” he answered.

“That’s enigmatic,” she remarked and the delighted expression on his face lit him up from the inside. “Here I am in your jacket, about to take a bath with you, and you won’t even tell me your name.” Her voice wasn’t much more than a whisper but he heard every word judging by how pink his ears had become.

“Together?” he squeaked. 

“I’ve sicked up your jacket. I’m not that excited about water right now, ta. Also, I reckon I might drown if you go too far. I don’t want you lifting me out of the tub all fresh and clean against all that…” she waved at the goo all down his t-shirt.”

“Rose, your mother,” he began.

“You can behave.”

“Rose,” he drawled. “I will sit beside you. I will even consent to remove my t-shirt. But no way can I get into a bath with you right now.” He gave her a serious stare. “Your mother would murder me. She’s a bit overprotective. And will be in here presently to keep an eye on me. Besides, you don’t know me, not really.” His expressive eyes were sparkling with moisture.

A denial was on her lips. She closed her mouth tight in view of his sad face. “Right. Sorry. Not sure what came over me there…” She made a face. He was right. She didn’t know him at all. She had just invited a stranger into her bath and it had felt oddly natural. She blinked. “I don’t…”

“Easy,” he reached out to steady her. “You’ve been through a lot today. I’m not upset. I’m flattered. Come on, in you get.” He turned the water off and stood to help balance her. She found herself naked and sinking into the water until bubbles covered most of her. He divested himself of his shirt and tossed it toward a hamper. As promised, he didn’t join her. He slid down next to her, sitting on the bath mat. His eyes never left hers.

“Tell me your name,” Rose asked as he handed her a flannel.

“You can call me anything you want. I didn’t, I never bothered to get a proper name. I’m just the Doctor,” his eyes bored into her as if he expected her to react to him being a doctor. 

“That’s like calling you ‘the Mister,’” she grumbled.

“Rose,” he whined. “I’m the Doctor. I don’t need to be anyone else. I’m the only one here, after all. S’not like he’s going to come back and sue me for copyright infringement. That would be petty even for me.”

“I don’t understand, Doctor.”

He smiled softly. “That’s alright for now, isn’t it?”

She nodded and set to scrubbing the nutrient bath off of her skin. He was molded to the outside of the tub, never touching her even when she splashed him. When she had finished rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, another wave of dizziness caught her. She slipped under the water. Panicked, she flailed. The man-who-called-himself-Doctor was there. He pulled her up, scooping her out of the cooling water and wrapping in a large pink towel. Another rush of something… warm went through her making her toes tingle. 

The door popped open. The woman who-was-her-mother bustled in. “I’ll get her dressed. Go on, you need your own shower. I’ve laid out pajamas for you. When you’re done, you can have biscuits.”

“I’m not a child, don’t treat me like a--what kind?”

She snickered. He rolled his eyes. Jackie who-was-her-mother sighed. “This one eats like a two-year-old and I should know. Now shoo!”

The man who-called-himself-Doctor reluctantly left. Panic welled up. Before it could set in, Jackie who-was-her-mother grabbed a second pink towel and attacked her damp hair. She made a muffled complaint that went unheeded. Jackie who-was-her-mother made her step into a clean pair of pink cotton pajama bottoms. She brusquely pulled them up and into place, gently tying the strings. She ditched her towel and pulled the matching top over her head before the woman-who-was-her-mother could do it for her.

“There,” Jackie who-was-her-mother said, “that’s better. I’ve got to send to your place for knickers and proper clothes but himself is living there and I’m not sure what he’s done with it all. He won’t let us in there. I’ve got a key. I go in when he’s working to stock the fridge and leave fruit or else he’d have wasted away. He’s not half bad if a bit on the thin side. I won’t go into the bedroom though. Nah, have enough to deal with without seeing him in his altogether. Bad enough he was topless a moment ago. Blinding how white he is.”

Was rambling a normal thing for everyone here? She leaned on the older woman who-was-her-mother as she was led to a big four-poster bed. She was settled onto the mattress. It felt like she was lying on clouds. She bounced a bit. 

“Is he really called ‘The Doctor?’” she asked.

“Yeah, bit arrogant if you ask me, but he’s never had another name that I’ve known. Pete’s been on him about it. Can’t have a passport without some sort of name. But you know him, he’s not an easy one to wrangle and he’s even more difficult now with the fits of temper--oh.” Jackie who-was-her-mother stopped talking. “Never mind. He is. He’s called the Doctor.”

She absorbed this information. Her eyes roamed around the bedroom. There were no pictures on the walls except a large painting of a bowl of fruit. The wallpaper was cabbages and roses in a pleasant teal. Her duvet was a darker teal. The carpet was beige. She didn’t like it. It had felt scratchy on her feet. She glanced back at the woman-who-was-her-mother.

“I’m so happy you’re here, sweetheart.”

“Thanks?”


	3. Plum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of angst in the first bit then some cuteness...

The Doctor’s life was over. 

Shame he was only a few hours old. Waste of a perfectly good instantaneous meta crisis. The sudden slicing of the connection between the Almost All Timelord Body and Tardis as the dimensions sealed caused his All Timelord Mind to blessedly shut down. Not in stages. All in one go. The Rejected Doctor switched off like a bloody light. Which was wizard, considering the circumstances. Only, he wasn’t off anymore was he? Oh no, no, no, no, no... 

He was alive. 

“Shit.”

A penlight was flashed into his right eye. He slapped it away before it got to the left. “Oi!”

“Mrs. Tyler, he’s awake,” an oily voice announced. 

“No thanks,” he muttered. “Not interested in waking up. Just… do the autopsy and be done with it.” He closed his eyes and stayed still willing his brand new heart to give up, to stop. Without Rose and the Tardis what even was the point? He was left to rot on some backwater dimension? Alone? It was...undignified. An ignoble end for the Sort of Last of the Timelords.

“Necropsy,” the oily voice corrected.

Great, so he wasn’t even a person anymore? Typical human thinking. Stuck in the wrong universe with xenophobic humans… No thanks. He concentrated on his heart again, willing it to stop. It stubbornly ignored him ticking away like a clock. Disgustingly optimistic thing… His eyes tingled. He was going to cry. Eugh. This was humiliating.

A weight settled on the bed next to him. The scent of a familiar perfume drifted into his perfectly developed olfactory sense. It triggered memory after memory of sitting with Rose on a silly white couch. Honestly, who had white couches? Terrible plan. No way to hide jam stains. Not that he had dribbled jam on the couch... No one could prove he had. “Don’t you dare stop them, Jackie Tyler. Let them do it. I’m a leftover. No, I’m less than a leftover, I’m a ‘never wanted.’ Oh brilliant, I’m a pear. That’s... I’m--” Rassilon, he was depressed. What was the bloody point?

Jackie cuffed him, hard. “Ow! Jackie what the fu--” He sat up as she slapped at him again, her eyes flashing wild blue fire. 

“Don’t you swear at me you bloody… Timelord!” she slurred his title into the worst sort of curse which was accurate. Jackie Tyler would have hated Lord Berusa and the Castellavan and...well, all of them. “I’ve given my daughter over to another version of you. I’ve lost her too. I’ve lost Rose too. I’m not about to lose you, you stupid, plum!”

He spun to face her, purely for defensive reasons mind, and spotted the big tears streaming out of her bright blue eyes. The pain on her face echoed deep in his hearts, erm damn it, heart! Against his better judgment, the Doctor pulled the elder Tyler in for a hug. Once in it, he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her. He tucked her up against him to keep her from seeing his tears.

Pete Tyler appeared at the door. “Rose stayed in the other dimension, I take it?”

The Doctor nodded as fresh pain welled up. Jackie clung to him in an oddly comforting way.

“Good,” Pete said.

“Good?” Lancing pain radiated from where his second heart had been.

Pete nodded, expression somber. “Yeah, sorry...is she there by herself?”

The man-who-called-himself Doctor appeared in her doorway, freshly showered, dressed in striped pajamas. He had a cup of tea in one hand and a biscuit in the other. She smiled, the tension in her body easing. She did not like being without him. She gripped her mug tightly sipping the water. Her stomach felt full after three sips. She dropped it on the nightstand, annoyed with her body. 

“Slowly your metabolism will reassert itself. Tomorrow you should wake up hungry. One biscuit will do it and a sip of tea or to be healthier maybe a bite of toast. Bit boring though when all you’ll need is a mouthful,” he explained, voice pitched low as if he weren’t supposed to be in her room. 

“What’s wrong with me?” 

“Nothing,” he answered in the same low tone. He glanced around for some reason before drifting closer to her. He stopped by the bed. “You’re healthy as a... Tyler.”

She digested that. He wasn’t lying. He wasn’t telling the entire truth either. Studying his face, she watched his eyes for clues. “Why was I in that tube? In the nutrient glop?”

“Erm,” he stuffed the biscuit in his mouth. Noisily chewing, he stalled for time. He washed it down with the rest of his tea, dropping his cup on the opposite nightstand from hers. “I’m not sure what to tell you. How do you feel?”

“Confused,” she answered, “I know what a mug is. I know all the words for everything in the room from the rug to the ugly cabbage and roses wallpaper. But I don’t know any of the people here. I know you said my name was Rose...and I believe you.”

“But you don’t remember being Rose,” he murmured, sneaking a knee up onto the bed. “What do you remember?”

“Drowning,” she answered, “You rescuing me… everything after.”

“Good, your short term memory is functioning perfectly. You Rose Tyler, are functioning perfectly!” He booped her nose. Somehow he had ended up on the bed close enough to touch her and she hadn’t noticed. “Brilliant!” he crowed.

“Why is it brilliant?” 

“Because it is,” he answered in his non-answer way. “And I wouldn’t worry about your memories versus knowing what a mug is. S’different parts of the brain entirely.”

Irritated, she lay back against the pillows, digesting that fact. He sat cross-legged next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments. He let out a sigh. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to tell you.”

“The truth!” Rose glared.

“Mm, the truth, yeah that’s ah--I don’t think I know that part,” he murmured looking a bit lost. “You were in a tank. You were supposed to be in there for another four days. The process was interrupted. That’s why you’ve none of your memories. You must have gotten the languages and general knowledge first… Weird. That’s not how it was supposed to work.” He scratched at his chin, the picture of puzzled. 

“Why was I in there though, was I injured?” Rose tried again.

“No.”

“Then why?” Rose reached out and grabbed the hand that was nervously plucking at the duvet. His fingers curled around hers instinctively. She squeezed. “Why do I feel like I know you?”

“You do?” He perked up. “That’s-that’s that could be good,” he muttered making a face. He scratched at the back of his head fluffing up his damp hair. “Or bad. Not sure.” 

“I don’t understand,” Rose moaned.

“Get some sleep. I’ve been told everything looks better in the morning,” he suggested, sliding off the bed. She gripped his hand tighter. His eyes flicked down to their joined hands and back up to her face in wonder. “Erm, well, goodnight.” He tugged a bit. 

“No.” She gripped tighter. Being alone terrified her. He was safe. She knew he was safe. “No, I don’t want you to go.”

“Rose,” he groaned, “I can’t--I can’t stay.”

“I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night alone in a strange house,” she protested.

“So instead you want to wake up in the middle of the night in a strange place with a strange man in your bed?” His eyes were wide and round, his brows arching up into his wet fringe.

“You’re not that strange,” Rose offered. 

“Oh, I am going to remind you that you said that. I have never been called ‘not that strange’ before. Very strange, yes, incredibly odd, well, probably. Enigmatic, yes, well, no, probably not. I’d like to be… It sounds so well, enigmatic.” He tugged at his earlobe anxiously.

“I’m tired. Lay down.” Rose lifted the blanket for him.

He balked. “Oh, no, no, no. I’ll be fine up here on top, thanks.”

“You’re a prude.” 

Insulted, he slid under the duvet and settled next to her stiff as a board. She sighed and rolled over to face him. He mirrored her. “I’m not…” he insisted, “a prude.”

“I think you are,” she teased.

“No, I’m not, I’m not,” he grumbled. 

Up close she could see dark circles under his eyes. She had missed it when he was in motion. Stilled beside her it was obvious. His skin showed signs of fresh shaving with an old razor. His skin was a bit sallow. Rose traced his nose and booped it. His eyes slipped to half-mast against his will. The bed was warming up nicely. 

“You look exhausted.”

“You look radiant,” he replied.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m always alright.” He offered her a sweet smile. “Or, I will be, maybe.”

“Maybe?” 

“Probably?” 

“Was I dying?” She asked the man-who-called-himself Doctor.

“Nah, just lost.” His eyes slipped shut. A few more slurred words escaped him, unintelligible words that ended in a long snore. She watched him sleep peacefully for a long time before she joined him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments. I've written up to chapter 8. It's unusual for me to post anything until the story is complete, but we live in interesting times. Doing what I can to entertain. :) This one feels like a long one.


	4. Cloned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose learns what she looks like.

“Taking blood and DNA samples are, were, standard procedure at Torchwood,” Pete Tyler told him as they entered the part of the UNIT that had encompassed Canary Wharf. “Rose had bloodwork done several times as part of her regular physicals. We were worried about the effects of the dimension cannon on human tissue.”

“Dimensional traveling without a capsule is incredibly brave,” the Doctor said aloud, adding ‘and stupid’ in his tone.

Pete ignored his tone continuing his explanation. “She asked Tosh to put two vials in stasis.”

The building gave the Doctor the creeps. Images of Yvonne Hartman haunted him. And...and...that damned white wall was in here somewhere. If he had the chance, he was going to blow the place up. UNIT had moved to BigBen, there was no reason he couldn’t blow it up. He liked blowing things up. Rose would have loved to see that wall blow up. Maybe in the other universe… he’d do it for her.

“Why am I here?” the Doctor asked, irritated.

“I owe it to my daughter, and to you, to bring you here and show you something. It’s in the basement. C’mon.” Pete led him down to an elevator that needed two keys and a passcode.

Nerves got the better of him as they descended far enough to make his ears pop. “If you are taking me somewhere to dissect me, your wife will not be happy.” 

“After what you did to the toaster? She wants to move you to the opposite end of the house and lock you in. She loved that toaster.” 

The Doctor nodded. “About that, I think I should find my own gaff. Not that I don’t appreciate your Tyler hospitality, I do. It’s just… maybe it’s time for me to move on and try to...do something. Live?” The Doctor wasn’t sure he could do all that. But maybe if Jackie didn’t see his miserable face every day, she would feel better? She deserved that from him at least.

“Just take a look at what I’ve got down here,” Pete said, “and then we’ll talk about getting you into a flat, alright?”

He made a noncommittal noise, stuffing his hands into his pockets and observing all the little bits of alien tech stitched into the human engineering. Pete led him down a dark hallway past glass holding cells. It smelled like Weevil. The Doctor sneezed. Yeah, that was weevil, the poor bastards. They really had slipped through the cracks into multiple dimensions. The Doctor empathized. They stopped in front of a nondescript door. 

Pete Tyler typed Rose’s birthday into the keypad. Pain flickered through him. Maybe in twenty years, he’d forget her birthday. He could get lucky and develop dementia. Doubtful with his all Timelord brain. They weren’t prone to dementia. The door opened, creaking ominously. His time sense tingled, flaring to life after weeks of nothing. The Doctor stalled out, demanding, “Pete… what’s in that room?”

Pete stepped inside and indicated that the Doctor should follow. The tingle increased. His skin itched. He scratched at his sideburn, trying to get relief from the feeling. He resisted the urge to close his eyes and trace the timelines. One, he wasn’t sure if it would work and wasn’t in the right mood to be disappointed. And two... there was a more immediate way to get to the bottom of it. The Doctor stepped through the door.   
It was a lab with cement walls. Time sense roaring now, the Doctor was skittish. Thousands of years of experience told him to tread carefully, he was approaching a tipping point. The banks of computers caught his eye. “That’s Sontaron.”

“Yes, from a crash a few years ago, back. Mickey stripped it.”

The Doctor was distracted for a moment, tracing the tech, he exclaimed, “Oh, that’s beautiful! These are harmonic…why would anyone need one of these? And this is a monitor for a…” A light bulb went off in his still quite magnificent brain. “What? Why would you even try this? This is insane… Who would you be--? Noooo!” Terror and horror warred for first place in his tiny humanish heart. “Oh, no,” he whispered, begging, “Pete, please, please tell me you didn’t!”

Pete flicked a switch and the lights came up. The Doctor spun to face the nutrient tank he just knew had to be there. And there it was! The shield screen came down revealing bright blue liquid with stabilizing packs free-floating around. “Oh, that's-”

Rose Tyler. In the nutrient bath was Rose Tyler, or what would become a Rose Tyler once it was fully grown and the memories sprinkled in like seasonings. His time senses went crazy. Shooting pain raced down his cerebellum into his spine. He bore down on it as it turned into rage. 

“--never going to work!”

Rose felt silly standing on the posh carpeting in front of the doorman in pajamas and her bare feet. The Doctor, also still in pajamas, just waved, saying, “You remember Rose, Perry,” on his way by. Perry nodded to her, expression impassive but Rose saw a glint of amusement in his bright eyes. She gave a sheepish wave as she was manhandled into the elevator. The doors closed. 

“Let’s play a game,” the Doctor suggested. “Close your eyes, and hit the button for your floor.”

“I don’t know my floor,” Rose said.

“No reason you should,” he agreed pleasantly with a shrug. “Hit any of them. Go on. No one can resist a good button press.”

Rose closed her eyes and poked one. No thought behind it, just a weird muscle memory. A surprised noise from the Doctor let her know she’d guessed right. Opening her eyes, she winked at him. His eyebrows lifted. “I’m rich right? So penthouse all the way.”

He sniffed. “Smart. But you cheated.”

Was he disappointed? No, he seemed pensive but not unhappy about it. He watched the numbers go up. She hummed along with the song in the elevator. He sang a few bars for her. She sang the chorus back to him, giggling. The elevator stopped. They stepped out of the elevator into a hallway. The dark hardwood floor was warm and glossy to the touch. He took her hand and led her down to a dark blue door. He let go of her to pull a slim metal tube out of his pocket. Rose reached out to touch the door. “I like this blue.”

“Me too,” he enthused. The slim tube lit up bright blue and the high pitched sound that had cracked the glass tube sounded. The door clicked open. “Welcome home, sort of. It was your place first. I’m just sort of squatting.”

“Then I can toss you out,” Rose mused.

“No way, I have rights. Why are you turfing me out? What did I do?” He teased pulling her inside her apartment. The hardwood floors continued throughout. The space was wide open. A pile of chucks in various colors were lined up on a mat. He kicked his off onto it. Rose stepped past him to touch a coffee table in dark wood. The sofa beyond it was a rich wine color with a dark blue throw tossed over it. She touched the fabric. It was plush. There were a freestanding lamp, an end table and a wall of bookcases brimming with books. There was a room off between the bookcases. Behind her was a pass and a kitchen behind it. 

The Doctor was heading that way past the kitchen and down a little hallway. “I didn’t add much. You supplied all the books. I’ve read most of them. I skipped the Maths books since they were Time Tot level. I did enjoy the Mills & Boon books more than I thought. Blimey, they weren’t half kidding when they nicknamed them ‘bodice rippers.’ Imagine the poor seamstresses! The master bedroom is back here.”

Rose let his voice carry her along. There were pictures on the walls of stars and the HorseHead Nebula. She touched a star map on her way by. It slipped and she caught it before it hit the floor. A picture fluttered out from behind it. Rose fixed the image and scooped up the picture. There was a handsome dark-skinned man with black hair, a young pink-skinned blonde, and an older pale man with black hair in a black leather jacket. She flipped it over but there was no date or names or anything on the back. She took it with her. The bedroom door was open. She could see the Doctor puttering around in front of a large armoire. Several suits were lined up. There was another built-in closet beyond it. Rose could see oxford after oxford shirt hung up beside a bunch of T-shirts. Beyond the tees were blouses and jackets and dresses.

She leaned against the door. “We’re sharing a closet?”

The Doctor blushed, keeping his eyes downcast. “Erm…” he squeaked, “your stuff...didn’t um want to… I thought. Yes. We are. That bureau is yours.”

Rose moved to the glossy bureau and pulled open the top drawer. Knickers were bunched up and jammed in there every which way. Bras were neatly layered beside them. She grabbed one of each, keeping it simple a pink bra and a patterned pair of pants. She opened the second drawer to grab a soft tee in blue. Below that drawer were jeans and trousers.

“There’s a suitcase under the bed,” the Doctor offered, his hands on another blue suit. Beyond it was a brown one with pinstripes. “Pack several days worth. Not sure when Jackie will let you out of her sight. Figure a week at least. Might be a year...knowing Jackie.” He smiled.  
“Are there two suitcases?” Rose asked.

“You won’t need that much,” he protested, letting go of the suit.

“Not for me, for you,” Rose pulled one suitcase out and plopped it on top of the bed. The duvet was the same color as the suit he hadn’t picked, complete with pinstripes.

“Me?” He came over, averting his eyes when she opened the underwear drawer and just grabbed two handfuls of knickers. “You are turfing me out!”

“No,” she jammed the knickers into the suitcase and went back for bras. “I want you to stay with me. S’that alright?”

“Um,” he began, “Yeah. That’s top-notch, that’s… Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath, “suitcases.” He got down on the floor and pulled out a small bag that looked suspiciously like it was made out of the blue wool of the suit she’d ruined. “Right.” He placed three suits, one charcoal with a light pinstripe, a blue check, and a dark blue into the bag. They shouldn't have fit but they did with room to spare. “Shirts…”

Rose grabbed a stack of tees from the drawer and a few pairs of trousers. She ventured to their shared closet for a few dresses and a jacket in brown leather. There was even a shoe tree in the closet with heels, trainers, and sandals. She bit her lip and grabbed a pair of trainers for now and a soft patent leather pair of shoes and a set of strappy heels for later.

Her stuff wouldn’t all fit in the suitcase. Rose grumbled and the Doctor relieved her of the bulkier items and the shoes, dropping them neatly into his bag along with a few pairs of trousers, his shirts, a few tees, and coat. “That’s never going to fit!”

“I’m an excellent packer. Go and get dressed. We can’t get away with jim-jams all day. I’ll sort the rest of this. I’ve also got an experiment in the other room to check on if I’m going to be gone for a bit. Go on, bathroom is through there.” He pointed.

Rose slipped into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. “Oh.” She was the blonde in the photo. Rose pulled it out of her pajama pocket. Her hair in the picture was longer with dark roots but there was no mistaking that mouth or those eyes. Those were her eyes. The Doctor was right about them being a hazel sort of lovely green-brown. He was also right about how obviously related she was to Jackie and Pete Tyler. Rose made faces at herself. She had a nice smile. Her brows were a bit dark. And her roots weren’t dark… They were sort of light brown fanning out to a rich warm blonde. 

She stripped searching her body for marks. She was still convinced she had been injured and no one wanted to tell her how. “No scars,” she muttered as she saw the smooth expanse of her stomach and her belly button. It looked a bit raw, as if recently healed over. Her legs were also clear. She dragged on pants and jeans in one go, settling them around her slim hips. She checked her arms and turned a few times trying to see her back. There wasn’t a scar on her anywhere. She was pristine. That was weird. Surely, she had barked a shin, or gotten an infection? But her skin was smooth, pink, and ticklish as she slipped on the soft cotton t-shirt.

The room was empty. The suitcases were gone. The Doctor had left her the leather jacket, socks and trainers. Rose put the jacket and socks on, carrying her shoes to the living room. The door between the library books was open. Rose saw an aquarium with what looked like a coral reef inside it, albeit a small one. She approached. “Do you have fish?”

Startled, the Doctor popped up from behind the aquarium with thick glasses on the end of his nose. “Not as such, just my friend here.” 

“Who?”

“The coral,” the Doctor, indicated the reef. “She’s branched out quite a bit since I built a shatt-erm, since I transported her to the larger tank. She’s quite a healthy pink and gold like some Tyler’s I know.” He gave her an admiring once over.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Got a thing for pink and yellow?”

“Yes, definitely,” the Doctor answered absently. “I’ve added a nutrient slurry for her. She says she’s fine. Well, her readings say she’s fine. Can’t really talk to coral, can you?” 

Rose made a noncommittal sound. She reached out to touch the tank. It was surprisingly warm to the touch. Inside the coral did seem healthy and Rose thought she did feel happy in there with her growing medium and her weird liquid bath. “This is what I was doing not too long ago.”

The Doctor’s eyes were shrewd. He said nothing. Rose huffed. He smirked. Rose held up the picture. “This is me.”

“Yes, yep, I’d recognize that smile anywhere.”

“Who is this?” She pointed to the handsome young man. 

The Doctor fiddled with some dials for the tank. “Mister Mickey Smith, he’s a friend of ours. Well, he was. Gone now.”

“Dead?” Rose was stricken. He had such lovely dark eyes and a friendly smile.

“No! No, he’s just out of reach… I got a glimpse of him and my friend Martha Jones. I wouldn’t be surprised if that turned into something. She’s a doctor, he’ll be fine, really. Good man, Mickey Smith.” The Doctor stood up, satisfied that his coral was in good shape. “We should get back. My pocket has been non-stop vibrating. I think I’m in for a slap for this jailbreak.”

“And who is this?” Rose asked, pointing to the older man in the dark leather jacket.

“No one important,” the Doctor said, not meeting her eye. “Forget about him.”

Rose frowned. 

“Oh, no, no, no, don’t get all curious about him of all people. Not now. He’s gone too.” The Doctor took the picture and glared at the man in black leather. “His ears were ridiculous.”

“I think his face has character,” Rose insisted.

“You would, Rose Tyler, you would,” the Doctor said with a soft affectionate grin. “You like a bit of leather, don’t you.” He ran his hands down her leather jacket and grabbed her hands. “His name was John Smith. He and I were very close, inseparable, practically the same person once upon a time.” That one was so close to the truth Rose could taste it.

“I wish you’d tell me everything,” Rose growled, frustrated. “I know you’re telling half-truths and you’re omitting things. If you were so close, why do you keep scowling at him?”

“We were *close*, Rose. Not anymore. It’s a long complicated story and I’m not allowed to tell you anything until your mother says so. She’s been good to me, your mother. C’mon.” He had dressed at some point while she was in the other room. His suit was identical to the one he wore yesterday with a maroon button-down and a soft gray T-shirt that said, “I want to believe.” on it. He held a hand out to her, wiggling his fingers.

“Are there any pictures of us together?” Rose asked.

He dropped his hand. “Yeah, yes, there…” he drifted out of the room and back into the living room. He grabbed a book of Dickens off the shelf and pulled the picture he had been using as a bookmark loose. He brandished it. “Ah-ha! There you are! Proof that we know one another. Isn’t that what you were really asking me for, hm?” 

Rose snatched the picture. The image was square and felt thick. The colors were washed out like a printer without all the colors left. She was in a pink poodle skirt with a blue-grey jacket over it. Beside her was the Doctor with his hair in a pompadour, dressed in the brown suit from the armoire. They both had fairy cakes in hand and were grinning brightly. “Was this a fancy dress party?”

“Sure, we were dressed fancy and it was a party,” he muttered looking away. Lie. That was a lie. Rose hummed and fingered the paper. He sighed. “I probably shouldn’t have shown you that one… I have…” he scrambled to pull a billfold from his pocket. He flipped it open and a picture fluttered out. “This is...yeah here. Christmas.”

Rose and the Doctor were wearing paper crowns and giggling. “We look very close.”

“Ooh, ah,” the Doctor sputtered.

“Were we--”

“Rose,” he groaned. “We have to go.”

“Just...we look very…cozy”

“Rose! Please,” he begged, turning pink.

Rose held onto all three photos. “You’re going to tell me everything.”

“Hm,” was all he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks or reading! Let me know how I'm doing in the comments.


	5. Frankenstein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truths are unearthed!

Pete’s face was ashen. Jackie found him in the library drinking bourbon out of a pint glass. He had taken the Doctor to the lab. It was supposed to help. Knowing that he would have Rose Tyler back and alive and healthy was supposed to snap him out of his depression. Hours had passed. Jackie had expected the Doctor to come back running at the mouth and bouncing around like a caffeinated toddler. Instead, her husband looked sick. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

“Is she?” Jackie asked, imagining the worst.

Pete shook his head and kept guzzling the alcohol. He slammed the glass down and refilled it. 

“Peter Alan Tyler, you tell me just what the hell is going on!” Jackie grabbed the glass out of his hands before he could chug it. She slammed it down on the desk. “What did he say when he saw her?”

Pete sat down heavily in the leather armchair. “Love, he went berserk. Called Owen Dr. Frankenstein. He made Toshiko Sato cry. He made me cry. It was as if I let loose a wild tiger in that room. He raged, your Doctor, he raged. He says she can’t make it. He says she can’t live. Thinks we’re idiots, worse than that, cruel idiots. I know she’s a...she’s not our girl. But she is. And once her memories are installed, she will be, right? He is… If I didn’t think he was the Doctor before, I know it now. He’s him, the bastard. She said it would work out...she...my girl, my little girl.” Pete dropped his head into his hands.

“I’ll show him rage,” Jackie Tyler growled. 

She did not remember how she got to the Phoenix Room. She didn’t remember leaving the house. She didn’t remember driving there or going through security. She only remembered throwing the door open, ready to rip the Doctor’s throat out. Her rage died the minute he saw him sprawled out on the floor next to the tank. Pieces of technology were scattered across the floor. The bank of computers had been irrevocably changed with one sporting a glowing glass paperweight and a suspiciously toaster-esque lever. The Doctor was sweaty and disheveled with his right hand pressed against the glass. His glasses were askew. His was face streaked with tears. He was mumbling something to Rose. Jackie entered softly so as not to startle him. He glanced up at her, his eyes wide and full of wonder. “I-ah--think I fixed it.”

“Oh, sweetheart!” Jackie dove into his arms. 

“You donut,” Jackie said darkly as the Doctor tried to slip past her. “You scared us half to death!”

“I left a note,” he protested, dropping the suitcases to the floor.

“No one can read those weird clockworks you put on everything. And your English is worse than chicken scratch. Answer your phone next time or I’ll slap you so hard you’ll wake up in another universe, you hear me?”

The Doctor blanched. “Yes, alright Jackie.”

“S’my idea,” Rose offered. She was feeling warmer towards Jackie now that she had acknowledged if only in her head, the relationship between them. “Didn’t want anyone picking out my lacy underthings, s’bit weird.”

“Yeah, alright, come on in darling, your brother is home,” Jackie grabbed Rose by the elbow and steered her into a family room. Rose glanced back to check in with the Doctor. He grinned.

A small ginger boy popped up with a bright smile on his face and Rose’s hazel eyes. He dropped the train he was carrying in surprise. “Rose!” 

“Tony?” Rose asked, remembering the Doctor saying her brother liked to be called Tony, not Anthony. The small boy crashed into her. The Doctor mimed picking him up and spinning him around. Rose obliged and was rewarded with a stream of giggles. She tossed him onto a sofa and he cracked up. “How are you?”

“Mummy says you don’t know anything,” Tony said.

“Yep,” the Doctor chirruped, “her head’s all filled up with fluff.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “She’s not Winnie.”

“Nah, she’s got some brains in there. What did Jackie say to do?” the Doctor asked, kindly.

Rose hugged her elbow, feeling awkward. This little boy was looking at her as if she hung the moon and she didn’t know why. Was she a good sister? A distant sister? A disaster?  
“Be pay-patient,” Tony parrotted. “But you’re not going to forget me forever, huh? It’s my birthday next week…” Tony made a face. “I’m having a party and you have to remember to come, okay?”

“Wow, he’s like a proper little man,” Rose exclaimed. “How old are you going to be, little man?”

“Five,” Tony announced, frowning. “Will you bring me a present?”

“Yeah, what can I get you?” Rose asked, glancing at the Doctor for support.

“Books, or toys or video games or a live tiger, or a pony, or maybe…” Tony rambled on while the Doctor made noises like a live tiger was a perfectly acceptable present for a little boy. “You promised me a live dinosaur,” Tony accused the Doctor.

“Nah, no way, I promised you a chemistry set and you said you were going to use it to make a dinosaur,” the Doctor corrected, taking Rose’s hand and massaging her fingers. “Maybe next year I can sneak a little dinosaur past your mother. How about a budgie? They’re dinosaurs…”

“Nuh uh,” Tony whinged. “You staying for tea?”

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, but only because I heard your mum was going to order us all pizza and chips.”

Jackie groaned when the little boy cheered. Rose smirked when the Doctor turned a triumphant grin Jackie Tyler’s way. “Yeah, alright. Are you sticking around?” The way Jackie asked was accusatory but the way she gripped the Doctor’s bicep was friendly and relieved. The Doctor bobbed his head. Walking to the sofa, he crashed down next to Tony. Tony tossed himself half into the Doctor’s lap.

“You’re like a cat,” the Doctor told him.

“Mum says you’re like a worm,” Tony replied, smirking.

Rose sat down on the chair near them, watching the Doctor’s nervous reaction. “Why’s that, Tony?”

“Because you can lop bits off of him and make more like worms,” Tony said matter-of-factly.

Rose’s eyebrows arched. 

The Doctor ruffled the boy’s hair. “That’s nonsense. If you lop bits of me off, I’ll just scream a lot. Blood would go everywhere! Your mum would be furious and order a new sofa.”

“But Mummy said-”

“Yeah well, that…” The Doctor gave her a worried glance. “I think we better not take the chance. I don’t want to lose bits.”

“Okay,” the little boy said, rolling off of the Doctor to peer at Rose. “What’s my favorite color?”

“I don’t know,” Rose answered. 

“How many ponies do I have?” 

“One?” Rose ventured.

“No, two. I’ve got one for riding lessons and one for a friend. He’s little.” Tony explained, asking, “How come you don’t remember anything? Did you hit your head? Was it because of the cannon? Mum says you were going to jump out of a mmmph.” The Doctor had slapped a hand over Tony’s mouth. The little boy wriggled. The Doctor whispered something in his ear, and he slumped. The Doctor dropped the now sleeping boy to the sofa. His eyes were hooded, afraid of her reaction.

“What cannon? Is that how I got injured? What did you do to him?” Rose reached out to touch Tony’s little face. A soft snore escaped him. “He’s sleeping?”

“Rose, I’d never hurt Tony…” The Doctor’s eyes stayed hooded, wary of her. “I just suggested a nap… I thought he might overwhelm you.”

“Suggested-?”

The doorbell rang. Pete Tyler rushed by. Seconds later large boxes of paper and soggy looking electronics were brought into the living room. Pete surveyed the blond man who-was-called-Jakey-Boy(?) into the room with another box. He nodded to the Doctor. His eyes spotted Rose and he stared. “Blimey.”

“Tea?” Jackie bustled into the room with a tray. 

“Jackie, we’re going to need more than tea to get through this lot. Should she be here for this?”

“I am here, so maybe you want to ask me?” Rose growled.

The Doctor smirked, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Jake Symmonds, Rose Tyler. Rose, Jake is a friend of yours. He’s as spiky as his hair.”

“Means a lot coming from you,” Jake replied, “Sorry Rose, no disrespect. It’s just…”

All eyes snapped to him and he shut up. Rose bit her lip. This was getting old. She decided to act as if she was a part of the discussion instead of the subject of it. “This is all the raw data from the experiment that was done on me?”

“If you want to call it that,” Jake said, uncomfortable under her scrutiny. “S’everything we have from the readouts you had us print every day. Plus the soggy harddrives. They were still sparking a bit in the car. Not sure what you can do with them. The memory matrix… I’m sorry Rose, it was a molten slag of metal.”

“Did you bring it?” the Doctor asked, perking up. 

Jake reached into a box and pulled out a charcoal briquette. “Knock yourself out, Doc. Tosh and Owen ain’t coming. Tosh said you know why.”

The Doctor grimaced. “Right, I apologized several times.”

“Yeah, don’t think they’re going to forgive you anytime soon.”

He glanced at Rose explaining, “I corrected their methods, vigorously.”

“He made a grown man and woman cry real tears. Tosh is in therapy,” Jake added.

“I said I was sorry! Not about what they did but the way I went about correcting them was wrong,” the Doctor replied mulishly. “They would have killed you. I couldn’t have that!”

“Doctor,” Jackie hissed.

He fell silent, pulling the slim metal tube from his pocket to buzz it at the briquette. Rose watched him. His jaw was clenched and his eyes hot. Rose reached for a stack of paper. Pete shifted the box away from her. Rose bit her lip to not snap at him. “You won’t be able to make heads nor tails of it,” the Doctor said gently, “It’s EKGs, MRIs, weird squiggles. The rest is in code.”

“Can you read it?” Rose asked. Everyone was following the conversation except for Tony who was snoring away. 

“Yeah, genius me,” he muttered, turning the briquette over in his hands and buzzing it a few more times. 

Rose stood up and grabbed a stack. She plopped down beside him. “Can you read it to me?”

“Rose,” Jackie protested.

“Yes.”

Rose held the stack out to him. He gently placed the briquette down on the table and took the stack from her. He glanced at the first sheet. “This shows your brainwaves… Look at all that brilliant thinking! So many neural oscillations! See, this shows you were dreaming.” He pointed to an active line.

“Looks like a lie detector readout,” Rose offered.

“Mm, then you are not lying from these waves. Here shows your brain was doing all sorts of lovely things. Normal. All your brain activity from the day before you broke the tank and threw up all over my suit is better than normal. Look at your Beta waves, aw, adorable.”

“So, there’s nothing wrong with my brain?”

He shrugged. “No. Perfect. You remember all of yesterday?” Rose nodded. “Okay, all your new memories are actively transferring to the long term. How old is Tony?”

“Four,” Rose replied.

“Comprehension is fine. Short term is fine. You are fine,” he pronounced, flipping through the stack and handing it back to her. “This is all good.”

Disappointed, Rose handed the stack back to Pete. He placed it in a new empty box. The group started pawing through all the information. Rose checked all her brain activity, handing any weird spikes off to the Doctor to interpret. He took one packet and kept it. When she asked him why he wasn’t sure.

Hours passed. The pizza arrived. Tony woke up in time to eat two slices by himself. Rose managed a bite of pizza and a few chips. The room was a disaster with paper everywhere and tired faces. The Doctor held the briquette in one hand while eating pizza with the other. Rose slumped against the side of the couch, unable to do much but listen as amino acids were discussed and development levels. They even went over every ingredient of the nutrient glop she had been suspended within. It was basically soup. Nothing they discussed mentioned injuries. Nothing came up about why she was in the tank. She did learn that she was in there for six months.

“I lost six months?” Rose groaned. “Six months and no memories? This is insane.”

The Doctor slid over to wrap an arm around her. “The alternative was worse.”

“What about my memories?” Rose asked, “You said they were stored in that thing that smells like melted wires and salt. Why? Why weren’t my memories in me? Why did you erase them?”

Jackie stood up. “That’s enough for tonight.”

“I need answers,” Rose growled.

“Yeah,” Jake scoffed. 

“He said we were friends,” Rose said pointing at the Doctor, “But you don’t like me. You haven’t made eye contact with me in hours. I’ve caught you checking me out and I make you nervous. Care to share why?” 

“Jackie,” he begged.

“Go home, Jake,” Pete said and the blond quit the room so fast the papers were stirred up.

“Jackie, Pete,” Rose began.

“Go to bed Rose,” Pete said.

“No! This is ridiculous. I need the truth. Tell me what happened to me!” Rose stood up. “Now, I think I’ve been patient. The information is here. You said when you looked at it, you would explain. And the way that Simmonds guy was looking at me was as if I were some sort of Frankenstein’s Monster. What the hell is going on?”

The Doctor grabbed her hand. “Rose, Rose, wait…”

She shook him off and glared at her mother and father. Jackie looked to the Doctor. “Can you give her back her memories?”

“Not from this,” he said holding up the melted lump. “I’m sorry Rose, but this is too far gone for anyone to get anything off of it. It melted and was put out in a salt bath. It’s toast.”

“So, I’m never gonna remember anything?” Rose turned to him in anguish.

His eyes were large and watery. “I haven’t given up yet.”

Jackie buried her face in Pete’s chest, sobbing. “Rose, give your mother until the morning, please.”

“No, something is off about all of this,” Rose told them. She grabbed some of the papers out of the box in front of her. “No one would erase someone’s memories to heal them up in a tank. That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Rose...wait,” the Doctor protests.

“And I was in there for six months… only there are no massive scars to indicate I was injured,” she continued, working her way through it. “And not only do I have no major scars, I’ve got no scars at all. None. That’s weird. I should have something from a cut or stitches or pimples! I’ve got nothing. Oh, and in these photos, my hair is dark brown and I’ve obviously dyed it blonde.” She tossed the photos onto the table and the Doctor earned a dark look from Pete. “My hair isn’t dyed. It’s natural and that can’t be natural.”

“I warned you this could happen,” the Doctor hissed. “Tell her. Or let me tell her.”

“You’re my daughter, you’re my Rose,” Jackie sobbed.

The truth snapped into place. “Oh, my God, no.” Rose felt the color drain out of her face. “I’m not Rose, am I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh Oh, the jig is up.


	6. Vicious Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is still trickling out.

“I’m telling you, it won’t work,” the Doctor slammed his hand down on the dinner table, upending a bowl of peas. “The matrix isn’t stable. The solution isn’t stable. The umbilical cord is going to detach a month early. After that, she’s going to have two weeks, max before we have to pull her out of there. Owen had the matrix on hold until four days later.”

“So fix it!” Jackie said, also pounding the table and knocking over the gravy boat. Pete watched the two most stubborn people he had ever met go at it and wished that he had never given into Rose’s plan to clone herself for her mother and the Doctor. He had no idea how she had known it would need to be done. Rose had been different by the end. He thought about the letters he had for Tony. If this worked he could burn them. But right now, things looked desperate.

“How? I can’t go back and fix the process now. That would have been in the planning stages. The Sontaran tech wasn’t invented to do this and the Krillitane tech that was cobbled into it to fill in the gaps wasn’t designed to do that either. It’s a clever lash-up, I’ll give them points for ingenuity. As a cloning device, it’s brilliant! But as for creating a thinking, breathing, feeling human being, it’s an absolute nightmare. If I hadn’t been there,” the Doctor trailed off shuddering before resuming his tirade, “We need to remove the matrix now and protect it. Otherwise, it’s going to fail. She’s going to be an empty shell! She won’t know how to breathe!”

“Fix it! Fix her!” Jackie shouted. 

“I can’t!” The Doctor shouted back. “I can give her basic human skills. I can alter the matrix to trickle information in the hopes of getting some of her in there before the breach… But not all of it! We remove the matrix. I’m still a touch telepath, maybe I could transfer it later… Or we could teach her like a child...” 

Impassioned, the Doctor didn’t notice the stream of gravy heading for his puddle of peas. 

“No,” Jackie protested. “You’re a bleeding genius. You can make it work. Don’t tell me you haven’t already tinkered with it. I know you have.”

“That was to correct the massive damage that lash-up would have made of her nervous system…” the Doctor protested. “I can fix the body. I can tinker a bit--”

“Like when you made her a natural blonde?” Jackie’s expression was dark.

“Yes! I thought it would be helpful. Rose loves being blonde and with no chemicals! I’d want to be ginger if the tables were turned…” 

Pete snorted. “I’d have my hair saved.”

Jackie sat back. “You’re wrong. Rose can hang on long enough for the transfer. She’s a strong woman.”

Frustration dripped from the Doctor’s lips, “It’s not about her strength. It’s about taking technology that makes fully grown, fast-grown clones and adapting it to making a person, a proper person. I had to slow the process a lot to make sure she had a normal lifespan! AND to ensure she wasn’t mentally deficient. Sontoran’s don’t care if you’re brilliant as long as you can shoot Rutans. Owen and Tosh didn’t take any of that into consideration. She would have been born screaming. She would have never stopped.”

Pete blanched. Jackie looked ill. The Doctor softened. “Jackie, she-she won’t now. I would have stopped it. I’d never. I could never… She’ll be a perfectly nice woman with no memories.”

“Why can’t you--”

“If it had been anyone else in there I would have written it off as a vicious experiment and shut it down,” the Doctor slammed the table a few more times getting gravy on his cuffs and yelping when it dribbled into his lap. Pete grinned into his wine glass.

“And I tell you, you’re wrong! She’s going to make it. She’s going to be fine. She’s done impossible things before or are you deficient, you daft alien?”

“I’m not a clone!” The Doctor shouted as he mopped the gravy up, “And which is it? Daft alien? Or genius? I can’t be both.” 

“Sounds like something a clone would say,” Jackie growled.

The Doctor growled back. “Jackie Tyler, you take that back!”

Pete didn’t say a word. His daughter had hinted that it would all work out. She had left him instructions to keep quiet. Let them fight it out. It was hard. This was hurting them all. If Rose’s clone lived, Pete would hug her and call her daughter even if her brains were a bit melted and her memories were swiss cheese because she would make his Jacks happy. The woman was a bear of a mother. He hid his pride by eating a bite of roast. It was dry as a bone.

“You look just like him! Like a bloody clone!” Jackie shouted, “And what’s wrong with being a clone? My daughter’s going to be a clone.”

“Nothing! I’m just not one. Or did you forget the bit where the other version of me had two hearts? I’m an instantaneous biological meta crisis. I’m the Doctor. I’m him, literally him.”

“Except there still is a him! Why are you arguing with me, Clone Doctor?” Jackie’s gimlet stare could wither normal people. The Doctor just glared back. The standoff lasted through several minutes of welcome silence. The stress of this wasn’t great for Pete’s nerves.

Softly, the Doctor said, “I'm not even sure she can survive the process if it goes full term. She could drown in the tube. The memory matrix… I can’t… I don’t think it’s going to happen. We shouldn’t try.”

“We’re going to,” Jackie insisted.

The Doctor murderously stabbed at his roast.

“Sorry I called you a clone,” Jackie said, “I don’t understand the difference. Well, I do a bit. Your temper is awful now. You should try a bit of meditation. Bev swears by it.”

“Oh, well if Bev swears by it…” The Doctor scoffed.

And just like that, peace was restored.

The Doctor was motionless. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jackie snapped. “You are Rose. You are my daughter. You think I wouldn’t know my own daughter?”

Rose glanced down at the Doctor. “Did she die?”

“No,” he whispered, meeting her gaze.

“She’s you,” Jackie insisted.

“Where is she then?” Rose demanded. When the Doctor didn’t answer, she poked him. “Where is she? If she’s not dead.’

She watched the Doctor shrink in on himself. His pained expression crushed her. In his lap, his hands shook. “Gone,” he murmurs, “she left me here, left me behind.”

“And you thought, I’ll just make another one?” Rose shouted, “Oh my God! I’m the replacement hamster. She leaves and I was going to what? Get all her memories and go on…” her voice cracked. “Oh God, I’m not real.” She didn’t know what to do or think. Bile rose up.

Her mother, no Rose’s mother, not hers, stepped forward. “Rose Tyler, you stop it. Stop it! Memories or not, you’re mine. I love you, sweetheart. And Pete does, and your brother and this daft man here…” The woman tried to pull Rose into a hug. She pulled away.

“No! No, you don’t know me. None of you know me.” Rose shook them off and raced upstairs.

She heard Jackie calling after her. She wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. Exploding into her room, she tossed the suitcase to the floor. Clothing flew all over the room. Rose dove onto the bed, shoving her face into the pillow so she could scream. She screamed until she felt the pillowcase sticking to her face. She rolled onto her back hugging the pillow. She was in a strange house with strange people and she was the stranger. Tears slid down her face, feeling salty and real but were they? Did clone tears count?

The Doctor was there. Standing in the doorway, he looked so small for such a tall man. His fluffy spiky brown hair was matted down, mirroring her own depression. He watched her watch him with fathomless eyes. 

“You were right,” Rose choked out, “you are a stranger to me.”

“Rose…” His head bowed. “Can-can this stranger come in?”

“Depends, was anyone ever going to tell me I wasn’t her? That I wasn’t real?” Rose’s voice broke in the middle. She saw him tear up which wasn’t fair since he was a real person. His tears weren’t in dispute. He got to be sad. She got to be...what?

He leaned heavily against the doorjamb. “I know a little bit about what you’re thinking right now. Enough to tell you that what you’re thinking isn’t true. You aren’t a fake person. You aren’t any less of a person because of how you were created. That’s not how life works. You’re here. You’re you. That’s real.”

“How would you know?” she demanded.

“Do you know that out of everyone, I was the one most conflicted about your memories? And they are yours. You have a right to them.” His dark eyes were swirling with emotions.

“Why?” Rose asked, “I’m not her. Rose Tyler is gone... whatever that means. She’s not coming back! And everyone loved her so much they copied her. And they failed. And here I am. Why would you be conflicted?” Her anger made her sweat.

He inched into the room. Rose didn’t stop him. He paused, exhausted by what? The story? His life? Her anger? “It’s a long story,” the Doctor said after a heavy sigh.

“Lucky you, I’ve got space in my head for a long story,” Rose said.

He sniffed, went into her en suite, returning with a glass of water. Handing the glass to her, he sat at the edge of her bed. Rose didn’t protest. Even after everything, he still felt safe to her. He always answered her questions. He admitted when he wasn’t answering. He… It was annoying how much she wanted to touch him, comfort and let him comfort her. His hand reached for hers, stopping just shy of her to grip the duvet, worrying it. Silence fell again. Uncomfortable, Rose fidgeted.

“A long time ago, I left home,” the Doctor began.

“How long ago?”

“A long, long, long, long, long time ago,” he answered, “Doesn’t matter. I left and I started traveling.”

“Where?”

“Oh,” he drawled, “everywhere. There’s so much out there to see and I wanted to see all of it, twice at least.” He dragged his long legs up underneath his body. “I erm, traveled for ages and ages, sometimes alone, most times with friends.”

“Like Rose Tyler?” Rose asked, leaning back against the headboard. She let the pillow go, so she could sip the water.

“Not like Rose Tyler,” he said with a grin. “No one’s quite like a Rose Tyler. Oh, there were friends and occasionally more than friends and then there was Rose Tyler.” A soft smile caught fire lighting his eyes up. “You…”

“She,” Rose corrected.

“She,” he said, accepting the correction, “saved me. We traveled together for a while, I say a while, it was a few years. The perfect team Shiver and Shake. I had never been that happy. I knew it wouldn’t last. The Universe, any universe, isn’t that kind. Despite my reservations, we became closer, we became inseparable...until well, until we were...separated.” His face was a blank mask. His eyes were miserable.

“How?” She asked.

He puffed out a long breath, kneading the fabric under his fingers. “There was a battle. I tried to send her away to keep her safe. I promised her mother that I’d always keep her safe…” He huffed. “Rose wouldn’t be sent away. She wouldn’t leave me... She was pulled away. She… She ended up here. And I was there...where she is now. Quite literally we were worlds apart, universes, dimensions apart. It broke my hearts.”

“You are leaving so much out,” she accused. Rose put the glass of water down and crossed her arms against him and his sadness.

“Yeah, I am. Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s a really long story and I can’t...I can’t…”

“What did you do?” Rose asked.

“Oh, well, same old life. I said goodbye.” He paused his eyes distant remembering. “I moved on. I went back to traveling. I met new friends. I met a best friend… I missed you, er, her. But we move on, right? We have no choice but to go on.” The Doctor trailed off.

“Doesn’t sound like you moved on,” Rose remarked.

He sniffed. “Wallpaper over my feelings with smiles and mania… Then one day, Rose found a way to come back to me.”

“You must have been thrilled.” Rose knew she sounded sarcastic but the Doctor didn’t look happy. He looked as if someone shot his dog. Rose reached out and caught his hand. “No?”

“No, what? Oh, yes, I was over the moon! I turned and ran to you flat out. So fast…” He squeezed her fingers. “And…”

Rose leaned forward, eager for their reunion. She forgot to correct him. His expression grew stormy. He gripped her fingers a bit harder. She squeezed back.

“I died.” 

Rose gasped. 

“And then... I was alive again. I was a fully formed me, complete with all of my memories and the same basic construct…” The Doctor gave her a meaningful once over. “Only problem was, I was also there, the original version of me. And Rose left with him, er, me. She left with the Doctor. I was him and I wasn’t him. I was a spare. She chose the original...I was… a leftover, I suppose.” The Doctor fell silent. After a few deep breaths, he added, “I didn’t want to live.”

Rose didn’t understand any of it. How could he have died and come back? Why was there still another of him? Was he a clone too… but no, he had his memories? She stared at his face, overwhelmed by his pain. Rose’s heart ached for him. She held onto his hand tightly. Despite her confusion, a hot rage was filling her up. “Why would she leave you behind? You loved her. She knew! She knew you loved her… She loved you, didn’t she?” 

“Sh, it wasn’t, she wasn’t…” he soothed.

Rose wasn’t feeling very charitable towards the other Rose, exclaiming hotly, “I’d never leave you alone. Never. Not if I loved you.”

The Doctor stayed silent. His look was a powerful statement. Rose Tyler had left him. 

“Did I love you?”

“You loved one of me that’s certain.”

Silence settled around them again like an itchy blanket. Rose was angrily mulling it all over. The Doctor wretched, abandoned by the woman he loved. Rose wanted to hit the original her. How could she? How dare she? The man in front of her had nearly died from her neglect. Her jaw hurt because she clenched it shut to keep from telling him just what he thought of her.

“Why would you ever want another one?” 

“Rose…”

“No, that was cruel.”

“I’m all alone,” he said softly.

No. Rose viscerally rejected that idea. If that Rose didn’t want him, she was an idiot.

“There’s me,” Rose told him.

He glanced up sharply, his eyes warming up again. A little sparkle caught fire in the dark brown, glittering just for her.

“You were right,” Rose admitted, “What you said to Jackie, this morning… I overheard you… I do like you.” Rose swung their joined hands, adding, “Whoever I am. Whatever I am. I can’t help it. I like you.”

“Oh, I like you too,” he gushed.

They grinned at each other. “S’why you were afraid of my memories, isn’t it? You were worried I’d reject you, weren’t you? If I got my memories, you thought I’d turn you away.”

His eyes were watery. His jaw clenched tight.

“That’s so...sad.” That Rose Tyler was callous and cruel. She could never be like her.

He rambled, “No. Yes. I… Not that I don’t want you to remember everything. There are so many things I want to tell you. I just--it’s so much. I do know what you’re going through a bit. I have my memories. I’m different from him, original me, and Jackie calls the other one the ‘Proper Doctor’ when she thinks I’m not listening. Don’t get me wrong, Jackie’s been nothing but welcoming to me. It’s hard for her to understand what I am. She tries! She pulled me out of my depression. She gave me hope. She and Pete both. And she wants to love us both. I can tell you from experience that she’s a wonderful mum. Rose…”

Rose bristled. She knew he meant well but the Tylers wanted their daughter and she was almost perfect but not quite. She needed to work it out for herself. “I’m going to need a minute on all of this. I’m not who I thought I was.”

“Genetically you are Rose Tyler. Jackie, Pete, and Tony are your family. You don’t need your original memories. You can just get to know them. They’re lovely. Won’t you let them love you?” He asked earnestly. 

Rose stilled. “I think they’re always going to look at me and want her.”

“Only in the beginning,” he said. “Jackie used to hate me and now she loves me. Humans will do what they’re born to do: Adapt.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Rose said as she let out a jaw cracking yawn. The emotional stress had sapped her. She was no longer capable of coherent thought. Everything was too much. Her head was pounding a bit. 

“Sleep on it?” he suggested.

She nodded, wrung out.

He straightened out his legs and Rose wouldn’t let go of his hand. He arched a brow. “I must be mental, but can you stay?”

“For you anything,” he said and let go of her. 

“Where are you going?” Rose asked, needy. 

“I’m going to tell Jackie to leave you be. Then pajamas! I’ll be back. I promise,” he chirruped then asked in a low tone, “Do you want me to stop calling you Rose?”

“Nah, I need a name and hers is as good as any,” she said. “Someone once told me I’m genetically Rose Tyler and that means I get her credit card and her flat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Rose takes a beating in this story but have faith in her. She's Rose Tyler. All the qualities that the new Rose has come from her. Thanks for reading. It's going to be angsty next, then some fluff probably.


	7. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little trickles of information from Rose. Cuteness for Rose and Tentoo.

“Control, this is not Kansas,” Rose said, tapping her mike.

The ground under her feet was firm, dry red dirt with thick cracks. The sky above her wasn’t blue. It was a rich burnt sienna. The air was thick with smoke. Ahead of her were the skeletal branches of dead trees. The air smelled like ozone. 

“Rose,” Clive called, “Gonna need a bit more information than that. Not Kansas?”

“Right, sorry, thought a bit of Dorothy might calm me down,” Rose remarked as the eerie landscape had her hackles raised. 

“Is it working?”

“No, my spidey senses are tingling. This isn’t Earth… not our Earth anyway. For one thing, skies a bit too orange.” Rose cracked on, walking across the landscape. The hair rose on her arms and a tingling raced down her spine. “Feels like, I should go east.”

“Rose, why not wait? You’ve only got fifteen minutes on this one. Just sit down and wait.” Clive sounded nervous. Rose chalked it up to him spraining his ankle on the last one. He was afraid she’d get hurt too. But she was Rose Tyler and she had traveled with the best. The stars were winking out faster and faster. She was running out of time to find the Doctor. 

“No thanks, think I’ll take an afternoon stroll, or whatever time it is...could be sunset? Maybe I am in Kansas after all. Does Kansas look like a desert?”

“All I know is it’s flat and has tornadoes,” Clive said, “so maybe?”

“Right, we both need to look up Kansas when this thing is over. Since our knowledge begins and ends with the Wizard of Oz.” 

Rose followed the feeling. It was like a hook in her middle, dragging her along an invisible string. She took it at a jog, knowing she was limited on time. What if it was the Tardis? She had felt her before, been connected to her before. Maybe the Tardis knew she was here and wanted to reconnect.

“Right, I’ll get on the internet and book our tickets. We can be tourists.”

“Clive, shut up.”

Clive signed off with a laugh.

The feeling increased. The landscape changed. Small hills and swaths of thick grass slowed her down. Urgency rushed through her. Rose ran, leaping over dead trees and larger rocks. She skittered to a stop centimeters from the edge of a drop off. The feeling was coming from down in there. Rose looked down, searching. Broken pieces of something littered the bottom. There was a glow at the center. Rose could feel the glow thrumming through her blood, pulsing, calling out. It expanded. Rose was locked into place. She couldn’t look away. A wave of heat exploded behind her eyes. Rose screamed.

Rose’s face was hot, eyes puffy from crying. She waited for the Doctor to fall into an uneasy sleep before settling down to stare at the ceiling. Rose had managed to drift off for a bit. Her dreams had been full of weird golden light and voices she should have known. When she startled herself awake she felt him tighten his grip on her hand. Curled up against him in the dark, she could smell his skin, all spicy and comforting. The evening came flooding back. Rose Tyler was a clone. She was a clone of a woman who had abandoned her friend the Doctor. She gritted her teeth, furious again on his behalf.

She rolled onto her back to resume staring up at the ceiling, huffing. He rolled to face her. “Alright?” he whispered.

“No idea,” she replied. “I’m having trouble coming to grips. I was never a child. I didn’t grow up. I didn’t exist before six months ago. I’m a clone. S’not real. Doesn’t feel real.” She was here. She was a person. She felt real. Did she feel like Rose Tyler? She needed a distraction. She needed to know more about the Doctor. His story had made a few things clear. “You’re not human, are you?”

A sharp breath told her everything she already knew. His heart rate picked up. She could feel it pulsing in his wrist, panicking. He tried to pull away from her. Rose held him fast. 

“Rose… yes,” he breathed out desperately asking, “Is that… is that okay?” 

“Yeah,” Rose replied.

“Is it though?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she repeated, “although s’weird, me believing in aliens. S’like mad. Who believes in little green men?”

“Well, they’re not--most of them aren’t green... Except for the Silurians and they’re not aliens. They’re earthlings. And they’re not all green. I’m not green. I feel a bit green…”

“Your skin’s turning a bit green,” she teased, “So aliens look human?”

“Timelord, you look Timelord. It’s a common bipedal form. But we were first,” he said pompously.

“Timelord? I take it back, it’s not okay if you’re going to be all high and mighty about it.” She squeezed his hand to let him know she was kidding although her own heart had sped up. It had been a hunch. A good one, a right feeling hunch based on the things he’d said. And he copped to it. No hesitation. “And I’ve always known, she knew.”

“Yes, yeah, yep. I never hid it from Rose or anyone really.” He propped himself up on an elbow. “You’re brilliant. How did you--?”

“You told me you died and came back.” Rose mirrored him. “You keep saying hearts instead of heart. You refer to people as ‘humans’ a bit more than a normal person would. You, you’re different according to Jackie. She said you were different now and your temper was terrible.”

He scoffed.

“And Jackie told Tony that you could lop bits off and make more of you…Plus you touched him and he went to sleep. That’s not normal.” Rose reached out with her free hand to touch his cheek. “Your skin is cooler than it should be.”

The Doctor’s smile was soft. “My temperature is higher than it used to be… Makes winter less fun. Shame, I love snow.”

“Died but not cloned. Because you had trouble cloning me. So not a clone.”

“No, not a clone.”

“This is so strange,” Rose stared into his warm brown eyes and saw forever. “You are so strange. I get the feeling when you said you started traveling long, long, long, ago you mean more than ten years...”

“You said I wasn’t that strange,” he protested, amused and arching a brow.

“You said you were,” she countered and he answered her with a smile. “Aliens are real. See, I know that like I know what a hairbrush is. It is FACT. Like chips are better drenched in vinegar and the sky is blue.” Rose hadn’t even had chips with vinegar yet, just salt.

He nodded. “Although one of those statements is only a true fact for Rose Tyler...some of us like the taste of chips with a dash of vinegar, not a vinegar pool… or ketchup or a chocolate Frosty. But yes, aliens are plentiful, though less so on this side of the void. No idea why.”

“And you are one of them.” Rose cut through his rambling to boop his nose. His eyes crossed to focus on her finger. She tapped his nose again and he pulled away.

“I’m--mostly alien. Got a bit of human in the meta crisis, a smidgen, not enough to be human or anything, that would be...gross.” He trailed off and then added in a rush, “Not that there’s anything wrong with being human. Humans are brilliant! I’m just not...one of them, not entirely.”

Rose laughed. “Nice backpedaling… Want help with that shovel?”

“You have no memories of me or aliens. None. And you worked out that I was an alien in less than 2 days,” he said in wonder. “Either I’m rubbish at secrets or you’re brilliant or both.” His eyes were brimming with affection, his expression proud, and his fingers tangled with hers. “I lo--I erm,” he coughed, “I’m thrilled. I thought even with my fixes that you might come out a bit addled.” Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. “You’re so...you, so perfectly you! I’m sorry, but I’ve got to bring it in for a hug.”

Rose was engulfed in a horizontal hug. The Doctor squished her, his body warmly molding itself around her. Rose felt a twinge of heat in her lower body as he exhaled cool breath against her neck. She patted his back awkwardly as she fought the urge to kiss him or run her fingers through his hair. He’d like that, she thought as he gently disentangled himself. Rose sank into the mattress, relieved she hadn’t acted on her momentary heat. He was her friend. Even if he had been with that other Rose, they weren’t... A long breath escaped her as she sank deeper into the mattress. 

He rolled onto his stomach, away from her. “I erm, maybe I ah, should have waited until we were standing there. Bit…” Intimate. That was the word he wasn’t saying. Rose wondered if he were on his stomach to hide his own response to the hug. If he was a fraction of how flushed she was… he would need to… Rose rolled her eyes at herself. He was an alien. He might not even work that way and wouldn’t that be a shame?

“Ah, what, erm, what do you want to do?” he asked, snuggling his pillow under his head.

“Do?” About the heat in her face? 

“Erm, well, about it all? Should we keep trying to get your memories? I can go to UNIT and see if the other Rose made a backup. You’re clever that way. Or do you even want her memories? Do you… want space?” He asked, turning away so he wouldn’t see her face.

“I want to go back to the flat.”

He made an unhappy noise into the pillow.

“I need to be me without the pressure of being her,” Rose said to him, “Surely, you understand? S’just, I can’t hang around not being Rose Tyler all day. It’s...strange. Maybe I can learn about my family. Even love them, but not here, not with them so close.” Rose explained, feeling awkward and cruel. “Can you understand?”

“I can.” 

“I want you to keep looking for the memories.” 

“I will,” he replied softly.

“Will you…” Rose trailed off. “Will you stay with me in my flat?”

His eyes met hers. “Rose… the flat is small.” 

Rose eyed him. “So?”

“We’ll be...close.” The Doctor said.

Rose arched a brow at him.

“I’m still a stranger to you. I’m a teensy tiny bit human male now. Being that close...” He scratched nervously at his sideburn.

“Never lie to me,” Rose ordered, “and we can be as close as we like.”

Another noise escaped him. “Rose,” he drawled as if she were torturing him. “How close?”

Rose snorted and rolled over. He slipped an arm around her, pulling her back against his front. Rose’s body settled down. Her mind raced. He fell asleep, exhaling warm puffs of air against her neck. His grip was loose, always a choice for her whether to stay or go. A rush of affection for him made her body heat up. Rose knew he was right. He felt right. He was...supposed to be with her. She wondered if that was residual original Rose Tyler or new Rose Tyler’s idea? A soft snore escaped him. Rose sighed. She didn’t care. He was meant for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-edit every part before I throw it up, but now we're getting to the end of the stuff that I wrote ahead of time... Yikes. Let me know how I'm doing in the comments. Hope you're safe out there!


	8. Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose gets ready to leave the mansion.

Jackie found Rose in the basement lab that was passed the containment cells. Most were empty which suited Jackie just fine. The aliens in them were always violent or sad or both and Jackie didn’t like seeing anything caged. Two years of the Doctor’s influence and the whole first half of her life at the bottom of the food chain made her sense of injustice a bit stronger than most. Pete had been surprised when she’d freed a delegation from a locked conference room last month. No one had noticed the claustrophobia was what was making the poor purple things stroppy. Seeing Rose down here activated her mother's instincts.

Rose was sat on a cold metal table. The sweetly awkward research scientist Toshiko Sato, Tosh, was taking her blood. Rose’s hair was cut shorter and freshly died. That damned bluey purple leather jacket was across her lap. Rose always dressed a bit like him when she was getting ready to fight. The stars going out, the dimension cannon, it was all sucking her daughter up again. Jackie felt a shiver. Soon. She was going to lose her daughter again. 

“You’re going to need six tubes,” Rose was saying as Jackie put on her ‘completely unaware mother’ face and entered the lab. 

“Rose, the tests only need two tubes. Six is-” Tosh began.

Rose interrupted, “Trust me, Tosh. You’re going to need more. Just put the rest into cold storage. Or stasis? Stasis would be better. Use the stasis cube we got on the last jump. Clive smuggled it back and Owen’s worked it out.”

“And?” Tosh was nodding as she finished up. The woman would be gorgeous if she had a bit of confidence, Jackie thought as Tosh placed the last vial in the stand. As it was, she jumped at shadows. She could use a strong mothering presence or a bottle of wine for her nerves.

“Bring that Sontaron tech down here from the crash in California. In between jumps, I’m going to see what I can work out. Owen’s got some stuff I’ve worked with before. Can you see if he’ll help out? Not that I exactly want to encourage that one.”

Tosh laughed. “No, you wouldn’t, would you?”

The girls shared meaningful looks. Jackie made a note to check into Owen. If he was harassing them, so help her, she was going to give him such a smack. Rose didn’t turn her head but her posture said she’d noticed Jackie. “Mum, stop eavesdropping and come in.”  
Jackie breezed into the room as if she was going to dignify that with a response.

“What are you doing skulking?” Rose asked, teasing.

Jackie bristled. “Can’t I hunt my daughter down to make sure she’s eating? Have you? Eaten today sweetheart? Your father has you running day and night with that Dimension Cannon and now you’re down here starting extra projects? You need to sleep, darling and eat and have a life. The Doctor would never forgive me if you ran yourself ragged.”

Rose grinned brilliantly and Jackie was reminded of when Rose was a girl, so happy and carefree. A twinge of intuition went through her again. Time together was getting short. Rose’s eyes glittered in the low light of the lab. “Yeah, I’m sure he’d want me to stop saving the world long enough to eat a banana.”

“Or a whole pot of jam,” Jackie added. Rose snorted. Tosh looked puzzled.

“Go on Tosh. I’m off to lunch. C’mon,” Rose slid off the table. She had a cotton ball taped to the needle mark on her arm. She gripped her jacket, her eyes too bright and slightly golden. There was something about her that was setting Jackie’s teeth on edge.

“Sure you’re alright, sweetheart? You look a bit peaky?” Jackie touched Rose’s forehead with the back of her hand. “You’re a bit warm. You need a rest. And feeding up. And maybe we should have a doctor examine you. When do you jump again?”

Rose enveloped her mother in a hug. “Not for two days. Plenty of time to spend together before I save the world.”

Tosh was holding the tray of blood. It slipped and three of the tubes crashed to the ground. Jackie startled as did Tosh. Rose paled. “Damn it,” she muttered.

“I’m so sorry, Rose!” Tosh exclaimed.

Rose grinned but it was brittle. “S’fine. Happens.”

Tosh turned and the tray slipped from where she had placed it, endangering the remaining tubes. Rose’s hand reached out and caught it the second it fell, almost before it fell as if she knew it would. Rose bit her lip and dropped the blood onto a safe solid table. 

They left the lab with Rose still pensive. Jackie tried to engage her in conversation by asking about her last jump and the long break. Rose hugged her elbow. After fifteen minutes of solid questioning about the last parallel earth, the only thing Rose would say was that it was different. Jackie had asked Pete. He had paled and changed the subject.

An hour later, she slipped from the bed to answer the call of nature and went in search of some food. Padding down the carpeted stairs, she made her way to the kitchen. A light was on. Her father was at the table. He winked when he saw her and pushed a plate of biscuits her way. Leery, Rose approached. Was this another thing Rose Tyler did? Eat biscuits with her father late at night.

“Relax love, I’m not really your father,” Pete offered, holding up the kettle and shaking it.

Rose nodded and sat opposite him. “You’re not?”

“I am honored to be called your dad, now. But Jacks, your mother, and you aren’t my original family. The Doctor, he’s from another dimension,” Pete said, putting the electric kettle on for her. He grabbed two mugs and plopped them down on the counter. “Did he tell you that?”

“I worked it out,” Rose said, curling a leg up underneath herself.

Pete grinned. “Yeah, you would work it out. Got all your brains intact then, that’s good. Well, what you don’t know yet, is that you and your mother are from that same dimension.”

Rose had worked that out about herself and Jackie. She was surprised her father wasn’t from that dimension either. That meant Tony was from here too, probably. Rose reached for a biscuit. “And you’re from here.”

He nodded. “Yeah. My wife was Jackie Tyler. We never had kids. She didn’t want them. I did but I let her talk me out of it. Then one day you turn up with him. You were playing at being wait staff. You were rescuing people from this alien threat. You were trying to play matchmaker between me and the missus… You told me before you left that you were mine. I rejected you. I regretted that.”

Rose didn’t correct him about who he rejected. He was lost in old memories. 

“I lost my Jackie. She uh, she died.” The kettle went off and he filled the mugs. He pushed the sugar and milk toward her. “I couldn’t accept you if you were going to leave.” Pete shrugged. “I hurt you and I regretted the hell out of it. The guilt ate at me, sweetheart. You left with that daft Doctor of yours and Mickey stayed with us.”

“Mickey Smith,” Rose said, “the Doctor said we were friends.”

“Yeah, bit more than that. Although, I suppose that’s the literal truth. He’s your ex-boyfriend and best friend. Good man, Mickey Smith. Anyhow, the dimensions were supposed to be closed. I was never going to see you again. Until Torchwood in your universe did something so stupid that the walls between our worlds crumbled. You and your mother were trapped here with me.”

“Oh,” Rose said, remembering what the Doctor had said about being separated. “Rose must have been beside herself.”

“Yeah, yes, she was.” Pete sipped his tea, grimaced before adding sugar. “She was in love with him… Told him so. He tried to return the favor and got cut off. She was devastated. Anyhow, that’s how I got you as my daughter. We had to get to know one another, adjust to one another. We can do that again if you like?”

“And Jackie?” Rose asked.

“Have mercy on my wife,” Pete said, “she’s a woman who loves hard. She was all my Rose had for 18 years. I died there when Rose was a baby. Jacks had to be everything to her. Letting go isn’t her one of her strengths.”

“She’s not your Jackie,” Rose pointed out.

Pete smirked. “Yeah, she is. She’s the one I was meant to have. The tiger with the heart of gold.”

“You love her.”

“God help me, I do.” Pete laughed. “You can too. She’ll let you.”

Rose sipped her own tea. “Why couldn’t you tell me the truth right away?”

“I think my wife wasn’t ready to let go of the old Rose yet. She had that problem with me too for a while. I was almost Pete Tyler, but not quite. She adjusted well enough.”

“I’d say, you have a son together,” Rose reminded him and got another laugh.

“Oh, that part always worked just fine, thank you very much.” He snorted into his mug at her horrified stare. “Yeah, sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No,” he agreed, “I’m not.”

They ate biscuits and drank tea in comfortable silence. Rose observed him. Pete was a man who carried himself well like he knew his worth. He was warm and authoritative. He was probably a great dad to Tony. Rose liked his friendly blue eyes and an easy smile.

“Trust me, love, it’s going to be okay. I have it on good authority. You can trust me on that.” Pete gave her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and he snorted again.

Rose left him there since she was full after two biscuits and a mug of tea. The Doctor was snoring. Rose climbed back into bed with him. Full of tea, she let sleep drag her back under. She dreamed of falling through nothing forever. A song surrounded her, protecting her from the nothingness. 

An argument woke her.

“No, she’s not,” Jackie shouted, “over my dead body! She belongs here with her family.”

The Doctor’s voice was a soft comforting murmur. Rose sat up. The bedroom door was open. Tony was peering in. 

“Mum is yelling at the Doctor,” he said as if it was normal.

“I can hear them,” Rose said, patting the space beside her. Tony raced in and hopped up onto the bed. “Do they argue a lot?”

Tony nodded. “Mmm-hmm. She thinks he’s daft. He thinks she’s um, being stubborn.”

“It’s about me, isn’t it?”

Tony leaned against her. Rose wrapped an arm around him. “Yes.”

“You can’t do it! You can’t!” Jackie shouted. “She’ll never come back.”

The Doctor responded softly and Tony wrapped his tiny arms around her. “You’re leaving me again, aren’t you? You always leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you, Tony,” Rose said, hugging him tighter. “I’m not going anywhere except for my flat. I don’t live here. I haven’t in awhile. That’s not bad, is it? And you can come see me. And I can come see you. We just won’t live together.”

“You’ll forget me again.” Tony’s little body drooped.

“Nah, that’s not going to happen.” Rose bit her lip unsure of how to comfort the small boy. She had left him. She didn’t know him very well. If he and Rose had a way of being close, she wasn’t privy to those memories. “The Doctor said I’m fine. I’m remembering all the new things that I do and see and I know you now. I won’t forget again. And whatever I have forgotten from...from before, you can remind me.”

“Promise?” His big hazel eyes were wet.

“Pinkie promise,” Rose replied, offering him her pinkie. “You’re my brother.”

“Mmm-hmm, I’m a miracle,” he said proudly.

“Yeah? Wow, my brother’s a miracle. That’s good!”

Tony smiled. “Can I come to your place sometimes and stay over?”

“Sure!” Rose liked her little brother. He had a charming old man air about him. “I’ll even get us pizza.”

“Okay.”

“So, are you going to be okay if I go home with the Doctor?” 

Tony nodded. “Mum says you always leave her for him.”

Rose bit off any remarks she had. He was only a little boy repeating things. He didn’t know how bitter that sounded. Rose squeezed him.


	9. Goldfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Duplicate Rose moves in with the Duplicate Doctor in a tiny flat.

Pete found Rose in his study at three AM. To say he was surprised would be an understatement since Rose had moved out a year ago. She normally kept her visits to the normal hours. She was dressed like a cat burglar. He was in his dressing gown.

“Pete, Dad, hi,” she said brightly.

“Rose,” he drawled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What are you doing here this late and with several thick envelopes in hand?”

“Would you believe I was looking for stamps?” Rose dropped the thick envelopes onto the table near the Manet. “Or ah, admiring this painting?”

“The painting that supposedly hides my super secret wall safe?” Pete crossed the room to the bar pouring himself a scotch. He held up a glass. Rose nodded. Pouring a second glass, he held it out to her. “Not safe?”

“Found it the second day I was here,” Rose offered before clinking glasses with him. “And the other one…”

“The one in my bedroom?” 

“Yeah, first day. Safes behind mirrors are a bit cliche. Also, the hollowed-out book of Tolkien… You hate Lord of the Rings…Should have picked the Chronicles of Narnia, s;more your speed.” Rose sipped her scotch, grimacing. “This is horrid.”

“Well,” Pete drawled, draining his glass and dropping it to the bar, “you know all my secrets. In the essence of fairness, do you want to tell me some of yours?”

Jittery, Rose paced the room. “Yeah Dad, listen, I’ve written it all down,” she said, indicating the envelopes. “S’for later. You need to leave it alone for now.”

“Rose-”

“M’seeing things… things that are happening…” Rose’s eyes were wide, fathomless, scary and glittery.

“That’s how vision works, Rose,” Pete remarked, keeping his tone mild even as a drop of sweat slipped down between his shoulder blades. 

“No, yeah, I know that. ‘M seeing them a bit early.” Rose dropped her glass onto the bar. 

Pete did know. Rose had done a few things lately that weren’t easily explained. He had planned to talk to her in the office tomorrow. Now was good. Now was better even. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing her so rattled. Rose was a pillar of strength at Torchwood and now UNIT. She had a team that needed her to be steady. Clive was only loyal to her and he wasn’t the only one.

“Remember last week when Clive couldn’t go and I jumped on my own? I landed in a place that wasn’t London. Wasn’t part of anything… It was just… orange? No, can’t explain it. I saw into… Something. It felt so familiar, almost like her. I saw…” she trailed off, shrugging. “S’like it did something to me, or returned something to me? I can’t… Pete, we’re going to save the world. Me and Mum.”

Pete felt a fresh rush of nerves at the mention of his wife. “Yeah, well that has been the plan this entire time. I’ve spent millions in R&D from Torchwood and now UNIT for you to do just that. Although, Jacks is not supposed to be involved. You keep your mother out of this.”

“Can’t. S’meant to happen. Mum’s going to follow me. She’s already planning it. She’s… Look, I’ve made plans. If I don’t come back--no when I don’t come back… Actually, right after Mum and I go on the next jump: Read the letter addressed to you. Okay? Follow the instructions. It needs to be happening by the time he-” Rose closed her mouth and shook her head sharply. Rose’s pacing became frantic. “And keep Sean away from me. He’s...he knows I’m different. He keeps following me.”

“Rose, sweetheart, you’re not making any sense.” Pete grabbed her, stopping her mid-step. Her body vibrated with nervous energy. Pete felt as if he were holding a hummingbird. Her eyes flashed golden. “Sean works for us… he’s no danger to you.”

“He is,” Rose said, her voice sounding strangely dual-layered. “Costello and Sean are keeping notes. I set off an alarm after the last two jumps. Think I convinced them it was just contamination from the jumps. It’s not… it’s me. I’m... I can’t come back if we’re successful.” She stared at him, terrified. “I can never come back. I never meant to come back. I was always going to go with the Doctor. I belong with ‘im. But there’s him and he needs me too… You’re going to have to help with,” Rose bit her lip, and added, “Keep them safe, Dad.”

“Rose, you’re not making a lick of sense right now, sweetheart.”

Rose laughed, shrugging the shoulder. “Unfortunately, I may never make sense again.”

Rose lowered the bag into the coral tank. The guy at the store had insisted she not just dump the fish into the tank. He needed time to adjust. She could relate. Standing on a stool in the room between the bookcases, she held onto the plastic. The room felt heavy as if it were thinking. Rooms didn’t think. That was a weird thought. Maybe she shouldn’t have told the Doctor she needed a few hours on her own if she was going barmy this quickly. She eyed the fish. “I hope this isn’t a mistake. Promise, the little test tube of water I took to the pet shop tested just fine for goldfish. I’m not tryin’ t’kill ya, you understand.”

The fish stared at her.

“M’not.” They stared at one another. “Seriously, I’m not.”

The fish blinked.

“This, my new friend, is a giant goldfish tank. And this thing here is a coral. Coral like fish. They’re friends. So you’re going to be her friend, savvy?”

The fish blinked.

“Is this a stupid idea?” she asked aloud.

The heavy ‘thinking’ feeling in the room switched to a sort of thick curiosity. The bag in her fingers twitched. She dropped the end. “Oh, oops!”

The fish was upended into the coral tank. He flipped around before gracefully swimming around the tank. The fish explored the tank, darting to a great hiding spot between two branches of coral. Rose pulled the plastic out of the tank, tossing it. After a half-hour of watching the fish not going belly up, Rose figured he was alright. She tapped fish flakes out for the little fellow before retreating to the living room where the air was less moody.

Leaving the Tyler mansion had been difficult. Jackie Tyler had wept openly. Rose fought against the urge to give in to the woman and stay. Breakfast had been awkward and full of foods Rose was supposed to know were her favorites. It had cemented her need for space. The Doctor hadn’t interfered. He grabbed their things and packed the car to give them a few moments alone. Rose had wished he hadn’t then and wished he hadn’t gone to UNIT now. She had the strongest feeling he shouldn’t be anywhere she wasn’t. Which was stupid since he was a fully grown...alien with a full set of memories. The Doctor was more equipped to handle the world than she could ever be right now.  
Rose had lasted five minutes without him before going to the pet shop. The tank had been so big and the coral seemed lonely. Or maybe Rose was projecting? Either way, she had found herself in the shop with a vial of water. Some of the fancier fish were right out since they needed a saltwater tank. Rose had settled on a lovely goldfish. He had been alone in the tank. He had felt right. She hadn’t any money but her name had gotten her the fish.

Rose turned on the TV to catch up on current events. The Doctor had promised to bring his laptop home and grab her a cellphone. He was going to bring more of her readings home and a few projects so he could stay with her while they figured out what she should do next. Rose wasn’t sure what to do if he did find the other Rose’s memories. Did she want them now? After learning that other Rose had abandoned this Doctor, her Doctor, Rose wasn’t sure if she wanted to be her. But maybe there was an explanation for the other Rose’s behavior? Also, didn’t her family deserve a Rose Tyler who knew and loved them?

Mindlessly watching a chat show, Rose was startled when the Doctor burst into the flat with two cardboard boxes precariously balanced on top of one another. Hopping up, she grabbed the box that was teetering and nearly collapsed under the weight of it. She half placed, half dropped it to the coffee table. The Doctor dropped the second box beside it and beamed. “Miss me?”

Rose bit her lip against screaming, “Yes, please never leave me alone!” Instead, she nodded. He beamed his eyes crinkling merrily at the corners. He blinked, tilting his head as if listening. His hand darted forward and the goldfish was in his hand. “Wha-?”

“Oh no!” Rose cried.

The Doctor raced into the second bedroom a stream of musical sounds exploding out of him as he carefully tipped the goldfish back into the tank. The ‘thinking’ feeling in the room shifted to something like a questioning air. The Doctor responded to it with another stream of music. Rose stood inside the door, leaning against the jamb worrying the bottom edge of her t-shirt.

He turned to face her and laughed. At her stricken look, he lifted his hands in a placating gesture, saying something in the same musical way before switching back to English midway. “Showing me her new pet! Oops! Sorry, that first half wasn’t in English, was it?” 

She shook her head. 

“I’m laughing, because of three things: one, I can’t believe I didn’t think to get her a fish before. Two, I can’t believe you would be so lovely and thoughtful to my coral, and C, that I can’t believe she teleported a fish! That’s amazing! How do you think she did that?” He asked, glancing back at the coral. “Was that a natural ability that unfettered Tardises have? I just don’t know. I’ve never grown one before. No one has in centuries. This is impressive. Amazing!”

“She threw my fish at you,” Rose began realizing one that the Doctor wasn’t good at making lists and that B that coral wasn’t a normal coral. “I thought she liked him.”

“Ah!” The Doctor came forward and grabbed her arm, to pull her over to the tank. “You think she was angry and turfing your fishy friend out? Nah, she loves him. She’s named him Ian which is charming and sentimental. She was excited and wanted to show him to me, enthusiastically!” 

He watched the fish swim around a bit. 

“She’s not going to kill him, is she?” Rose touched the tank and the air felt content.

“Nah, I told you, she loves him. I explained to her that her fish, Ian, needs the water to breathe. She’s only a baby. She can’t be expected to know these things. Brilliant! You brilliant precious girl, you got my Tardis a friend. Look at you Rose Tyler! You’re so...compassionate! I could...” he bit his lip to stop talking and shook his head in wonder. His lovely brown eyes were brimming with warmth. 

Embarrassed, Rose tried to hug herself but he was still holding her one arm. “I--promised the fish-”

“Ian.” The Doctor watched Ian through the glass and the fish buzzed him, showing off his delicate fins.

“Ian, that he’d be okay.” Rose tapped the glass. Ian swam over to regard her with one fishy eye.

“He is! He’s fine. Hm, maybe we should add some plants for the pair of them. Telekinesis at a month old, my beautiful coral is so advanced,” he cooed.

“That’s not a regular coral,” Rose said, stating the obvious

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p.’ “She absolutely is not a regular old coral,” he said, slurring the word regular into a curse. “She’s the only one of her kind in the universe, well, this universe, our universe. Unique! She’s a cutting off of my erm, spaceship. More importantly, she’s a piece of home,” he said the last part with an intense longing. Rose wrapped her free hand around the fingers on her arm. He squeezed. “And you bought her a friend.” He made a proud, watery face at her, scratching at his face with his free hand. “I really like you, you know. And, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to bring it in for another hug.”

Rose was enveloped in a big bear hug. The warm spicy scent of him surrounded her as his grip tightened enough so he could lift her up and swing her around. She burst into surprised giggles. “He’s only a lil fish.”

He dropped her, pulling back enough to catch her eye. “Ian is a marvelous fish! And you are a good friend to me.”

“I’m your goldfish,” Rose teased.

A boyish giggle escaped him. “You’re better than a goldfish, Rose, you’re my...hope.” 

Rose’s face was hot and red. She pulled away from him. He didn’t hold her in place. He let his fingertips glide as she moved away, keeping contact with her until the last possible second. She stepped back away. “I’m just me.”

“Yeah, you really are!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, this is the last of the currently written and only needs to be edited stuff. I know where it's going and I only work until noon tomorrow, so hopefully, I can keep up this insane pace. If you're enjoying daily updates, let me know. I love the comments so far. You are all wonderful! Thanks for reading!


	10. Not 100%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Premonitions for Roses.

Sirens erupted as Rose materialized next to Mum. Mum startled, nearly slipping off the platform. Rose grabbed her to steady her. Clive’s voice was saying something reassuring as the alarms cut out. Sean Martin skittered into the room, breathing hard and holding up his damned clipboard, just like she knew he would. She'd seen all of this in her mind’s eye before they’d left another doomed Earth, this one by its own hand. Rose hoped the Jackie Tyler of that world had convinced her Pete to get down into the bunker on time. No way to know now. Her visions didn’t cover those other worlds, only this one, the one where Sean, a pencil pusher with no real power became a larger threat to her minute by minute. Rose bit back a feral grin.

“Miss Tyler, you’ve set off the alarm again,” Sean held up his hand to stop Rose from leaving the platform. Jackie hovered. Clive stood up from where he was manning the board to bore an angry hole into the back of Sean’s head. Clive wasn’t shy about his feelings for Sean Martin. Rose had been in fits from Clive’s very visceral cursing fit when Sean had started hovering in the meetings. “You’re going to have to go through the quarantine program again.”

“Sean, for pity’s sake,” Clive growled, “we don’t have time to do this after every jump. Rose is scanning within acceptable parameters. Her alarm is from less than two percent difference. And the last time I was scanned, I gave off similar readings. Jumping isn’t like taking the tube. It’s not Rose, it’s the cannon, you knob.”

“Sean, I will come down there and box your ears. You watch me,” Jackie shouted. Her hair was a bit singed from an energy weapon. She was holding up well because she was Mum but she was going to need a whole bottle of red to forget about the look of terror on her own face when the air raid sirens had gone off. Rose was planning on drinking herself to sleep on this one too.

“Down boys,” Rose sang out as she took off her mike, "and Mum. You too.” She winked at Clive. “Sean, I’ll get blood drawn and follow the normal protocols. Clive, get my mum processed. Tony gets out of school in an hour.”

God, Rose was exhausted. That world had contained a Rose who was a cat. A Cat! The universe was being downright insulting now. She liked cats...less since New Earth but still. No signs whatsoever of the Doctor. There was noise about him on two worlds back… But this one was a miss. Wearily she added, “Call down and get Owen set up for me.”

“Miss Tyler, the rules are clear. You need to go back to quarantine,” Sean said. “I can call Costello and see if--”

Rose closed her eyes as the familiar itch started behind her eyes. She knew from Clive that the feeling preceded the glow. Rose couldn’t have glittery glowy gold eyes in front of the tall weaselly man from Torchwood. He already had a file on her. Rose knew he’d like nothing more than to lock her in the cells in the basement. When she opened her eyes, his expression was smirky. “Fine,” she capitulated, “But send someone out for chips, will ya?”

“Rose,” Clive warned, drawing her attention to him and away from Sean.

Rose turned to face him. A sharp pain went through her head. A woman with red hair in a wedding dress flashed across her mind’s eye. The thought that she was important popped into her mind. She knew without a doubt that she’d meet this woman: Donna Noble. And she was the key to getting back to the Doctor. 

Clive grabbed her shoulder. “Alright,” he asked, “You’re gritting your teeth.”

Rose opened her eyes. She saw the gold reflected in Clive’s eyes. She blinked to shake it away. A small sharp inhale escaped Clive. He huffed out a breath full of coffee to cover it. Rose sneezed. He shook her shoulder.

“Back into the quarantine,” Sean insisted.

“Shut it, Sean,” Clive growled. “She needs rest. Do your tests in the morning.”

Jackie Tyler approached Sean and whispered something in his ear. He wilted, the smirk sliding off his face. He blanched. She whispered something else and Sean blurted, “Sorry, Rose, just trying to be thorough.”

Rose felt a wave of malevolence from Sean’s direction. “I’ll just bet you are. Right, come on Mum. I’ll give you a lift. Clive, I’m off,” Rose said and shoved her way past Sean. The itchiness grew. She had to get away. Why was this happening? She had to find the Doctor faster. He was the only one who could help her now, help them, help everyone.  
Papers had snuck out of the boxes and slipped and slid to the floor. Pieces of technology spread out on top, unwilling paperweights. Rose traced a line of numbers across several pages. She was sprawled out on the floor with her new mobile, programming numbers in as the Doctor dictated them. She had also managed to snap a picture of him to set as her background. He had glasses balancing at the tip of his nose and the blue torch thing glowing at a piece of motherboard with little transistors stuck over it like bugs.

Rose imagined she should be thinking about what to do next. So, she searched for a ringtone. Behind her the Doctor dropped the circuit board, popping a smoking finger into his mouth. “Oi!” he shouted at the smoking board around his finger. “Bad technology! See if I repair you properly now.”

“What are you doing?” Rose asked, rolling onto her back to look up at him.

“This is part of the original human tech that they built the interface with. It’s been sandwiched between a Sontaran battle cruiser’s clone matrix and a Krillatine’s DNA sequencer but it’s basically like someone stuck a ham radio between two mobiles. Or between two nuclear reactors. Insane. Brilliant. I initially tried to replace it. Somehow it remained integral as the translator between the two alien technologies. But it shouldn’t have worked. One man speaks French, another speaks Mandarin, you don’t go putting one who speaks Swahili in the middle to translate. Impossible.” He rubbed a tired hand over his face, “I can feel Rose’s fingers on this. It’s just the sort of thing she would have had a hand in. Just shove it together and force it to play nice. Like when we were on Calloolahannarahhannnalyn and she forced them to shake hands. Like they were children on a playground.” The Doctor shook his head, smiling in remembrance. 

A hot angry feeling filled her. She glanced away. When he talked about her, the other Rose Tyler like that, Rose felt… She didn’t know how she felt. She wanted the flat to be about her, not about that other one. “Well, wasn’t she a genius.”

The Doctor’s eyes lit up with mischief. “Are you jealous?”

“No,” she said too quickly. Damn.

“You are,” he sang out, “jealous of yourself, for shame, Rose Tyler. That’s a very me thing to do.” He took off his glasses and tossed them onto the table. “You have nothing to worry about. I literally can’t go after her. The walls between the dimensions are closed.” The smile slid off his face.

“Would you? If you could? Go after her?” Rose asked, sitting up to watch his face.

“Hm? Oh, no, no, I don’t...that’s… Nah,” he said with a shrug. “They’re gone. Good riddance. But my memories and feelings aren’t going anywhere. Is that alright?” He arched his brows.

“Yeah, ‘course. M’being stupid.” Rose felt small. He was trapped here without that other Rose, without his ship, without his universe… “How did we meet?

“Well, I was feeling hopeless and being a misery around Jackie’s big mansion. Pete dragged me to a super-secret lab and there you were floating in blue goop. You didn’t even bother to say hi to me for months, then you threw up on me.” The Doctor looked indignant.

Bursting into laughter, she wiped at her eyes. “No, sorry, I meant how did you meet Rose Tyler version one?

“I blew up her job.” 

“What!? No, stop it,” Rose laughed at his innocent face. “Forget I asked.”

“She didn’t like that job… Never once mentioned it after…” he went on, “You’d think if she liked it, she’d harp on it for a while. This planet is nice, Doctor but you know what else was nice? Folding jumpers at my last job. Or, wow what an amazing sunset on Clom, shame I can’t see the sunset from my work’s windows since you reduced it to rubble. S’fine.”

“Right.” Rose stood up, stretching. He had been at his boxes of junk for hours.

“If you want, you can get a job and I’ll come blow it up. I’m good at blowing up jobs. That place went up like whoosh no more fancy pants!” The Doctor reached out for her hand, pulling her down onto the couch with him. 

“You’d really come to blow up my job?” Rose asked, settling against him.

The Doctor draped an arm around her. “I am brilliant at blowing things up, ask anyone, or don't.” He made a face. 

“Guess I better get a job, then.” Rose glanced up at him watching her through heavy-lidded eyes. “I could work with you?”

“Oh.”

Rose lifted her brows. 

He scratched at his sideburn with his free hand. “I haven’t been thinking far enough ahead. I sort of freelance for UNIT. I ah, didn’t think I’d need to do anything. I wasn’t going to...bother. Suppose we do need to think about things like jobs and lives and Christmas.” He barked out a laugh. The arm around her tightened. “Let’s ah, let’s figure you out and then…”

“Let’s have Christmas?” 

He beamed showing off his lovely crinkly smile lines. She touched his face. He slapped a hand over hers, keeping it there. “Yeah, why not?” 

Rose’s eyes dipped to his lips and away. Embarrassed, she pulled her hand back and hid her face in his chest. A strange vibration rumbled through them. Rose pulled back in time to see the Doctor fish his mobile out of his trouser pocket. He answered, tension slipping into the lean long lines of him. “Right, yes.”

The Doctor shifted pulling her tighter against him. “That’s fascinating. What did the scan say? Oh, well, no. It wouldn’t.” The Doctor listened, brows raising. “I’m not sure if that’s possible right now. Yeah, well, project phoenix is… Yes. Yeah. No one wants that. No guns, Sergeant, I mean it. Send a car.” 

“Rose, I have to go.” The Doctor moved to stand. Rose held him in place. “A ship crash-landed in Sheffield. They’ve brought in several passengers. They’re unconscious. I need to make sure no one gets trigger happy or scalpel happy or any sort of happy at all, frankly.” 

Rose’s nerve endings itched. “No.”

“No?” The Doctor’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline.

“I--no, I don’t mean no, I mean, I can’t… I don’t.” The itchiness clawed behind her eyes. Don’t let him go alone screamed along her spine. Rose bit her cheek to stop from spilling the words out onto the air. Her hands clenched and unclenched as the words swirled like a tornado inside her. “I--can’t…”

His hands landed on her shoulders and slid down to hold her in place. “Rose, what’s happening?”

“You can’t go anywhere… without me. Please.” Rose calmed as he rubbed her arms. “I need to be with you.”

“Rose, it’s going to be boring… Negotiations and paperwork,” he murmured. “I’m in no danger.”

That was WRONG. He was wrong. Rose’s bones ached with it. “Then I can come along.”

His eyes flicked around her face and in between her eyes. She felt like a fly pinned to a card as he examined her. His jaw tightened with concern. “Rose, why do you want to come along?”

Rose looked away. “I--don’t like when you’re away from me.” It was almost the literal truth. She didn’t. The voice inside her roared again and again. He should not be without her, now, or ever. “Please, can we just… be together?”

His smile was watery. “I could never say no to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your lovely comments are keeping me going. I am going to try and write ahead tonight after work since I'll be too tired to do anything else. I love the comparison between the battle-worn Dimension Hopping Rose and the young new Rose. All Roses are good Roses.


	11. New Families

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day at the office

Jackie Tyler wasn’t the type to complain about her circumstances, no. You got what you got and that’s your lot. She had spent forty years with the short end of the stick. She’d had her Pete. She’d had her daughter and she had her flat. That had been her lot until the Doctor arrived. She had been happy with that. Disappointed it hadn’t been more, sure, no one’s life turned out the way they expected and she was alone but she was strong and she could handle everything except a daft alien who caught her daughter’s eye. What was wrong with Mickey, then? He’d been stable. Normal. 

Now look at her? Jackie Tyler from the Powel Estates was standing in the library of a mansion, her mansion if she wanted it according to the ghost of Pete Tyler standing there with heart eyes. She crossed her arms and looked away. She was trapped in a parallel dimension and her daughter was hurting. “This is no time for schmoozing, Pete Tyler, no matter how well you’ve aged and how handsome you are after having made something of yourself.”

Pete grinned. The cheek of him!

“I’m just offering a solution, Jacks. You and your daughter-”

“Our daughter, she’s called Rose,” Jackie growled. 

“You need to fit in here. We can slip you right in as my wife. We can stage a divorce later if you like…” Pete said, creeping close to her and smelling like incredibly expensive cologne, sort of like chocolate, cherries and her favorite wine all mixed up with something manly. Not that she was falling for his charms again, no. No way, no how, even if he was rich and lovely and… “We can say Rose is our long lost daughter,” he continued, taking on that tone she loved, rumbly and low. How did he know? He was a different man! It wasn’t fair. “My people can fabricate something. We could say she was our love child, Jacks. Imagine that? Romantic story. We get together as kids, create Rose, meet up later… Oh, I could sell the movie rights on that one, love. All I’m asking is if you would consider staying here with me.” He paused for a moment waiting, tapping a foot impatiently. “Until you get settled...”

Jackie moved closer to him. Cor, he’d really aged well, sort of come over all handsome like Sean Connery. “Yeah, I guess I could live in a mansion for a while. I reckon it wouldn’t be so hard… But I’m ordering things. This place is depressing and tacky.”

Pete snorted. “Yeah, I’m thinking of buying an entirely different mansion. You could… help me pick it out.”

Oh, he was charming! Look at him with his handsome face and lovely eye tempting her with his money and his Pete Tyler-ness. He was just the man she’d always hoped he’d be. Jackie felt herself melting. “Yeah alright. But don’t get any ideas, you.” 

Jackie was getting some ideas. She hoped he didn’t notice. She wanted to at least pretend to be hard to get. Pete smirked. “Oh, alright, you can have a few ideas.”

Rose clung to the Doctor’s arm. Her eyes were saucers as they entered BigBen. A guard said hello to her then did a double-take. Rose offered them a friendly smile. The Doctor didn’t slow down enough for her to catch his name badge. Jake appeared and sidled up to the Doctor. The Doctor nodded and Jake handed him a tablet.

“Alright, Rose?” Jake asked, keeping his eyes front. 

“Hi,” Rose said with too many ‘i’s. 

“Straighten up. Try and look a bit more...commanding,” Jake hissed. “They know you as a team leader here. Rose Tyler saved a lot of lives in this room, she’s not perky.”

Stung, Rose let go of the Doctor’s arm and straightened up. She dropped her smile resisting the urge to bite her lip. The Doctor looked up from the tablet. He blinked, unhappy when he noticed the distance between them. He scowled at Jake before reaching out and wiggling his fingers for her hand. He held it as loosely as ever. Rose tightened her grip. He squeezed back, his fingers cool against her hot and sweaty ones. 

If it weren’t for the black suits and the lack of ornamentation the place would look like any other corporate office. They entered a lift. The Doctor buzzed the panel with his glowing torch thing. Jake stood at attention beside him, Rose was jittery. The metal elevator was shiny and plain. The buttons descended a lot farther than Rose believed was possible. “Are we going into the center of the Earth?”

“Yeah, just about. Mickey used to say that too,” Jake said, “‘Course you don’t remember Mickey, do you? You don’t know anything.”

“Jake,” the Doctor growled, “leave Rose alone. It’s not her fault.”

“She doesn’t know anything,” Jake insisted, his Geordi accent thickening, “Bringin’ her here is a risk. Costello’s in today. She realizes this one’s a fake, she’ll dissect--”

Rose’s hand was released. The Doctor slammed Jake up against the wall of the elevator. The breath whooshed out of the shorter man. Rose was startled. He’d never been anything other than gentle. The violence was instant and devastating. Jake’s eyes bulged as the Doctor flexed the hand around his throat. Jake sputtered. Rose flew forward. 

“Let him down! You’re choking him!” Rose touched the Doctor’s hands. He released Jake who slid back down to his feet. “And I do so know who Mickey is. He was my best friend and ex-boyfriend. He worked here and helped with the cannon. And most people think his name is Ricky,” she informed him.

“Who told you he was your ex-boyfriend?” the Doctor asked, mood shifting to curious, “Not Jackie. She said she was over that…”

“Pete.” Rose reached out to dust Jake off. He flinched. Rose let out a breath.

“I was only trying to help,” Jake said, “she needs to be prepped. She can’t pretend to be Rose Tyler here. Too many people know her.”

It was a mistake. Regaining the Doctor’s angry attention right now wasn’t smart. Rose wrapped herself around his arm. He faced Jake. “She’s not fake. She’s Rose Tyler. The sooner you get that through your thick head the safer we’ll all be. I can handle Costello.”

“Can you?” Jake asked eyes flicking down to the Doctor’s free hand that was clenching and unclenching. “Your temper’s showing, Doc. You know what happened last time you had a fit.”

He stiffened, the anger draining out of him. The Doctor reached out and dusted Jake down. “Yeah, yes, yep, I remember. Sorry, Jakey-boy. Born in fire, apparently. Should have kept the leather jacket...” Rose started. John Smith had a leather jacket… Did he mean? “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” 

“She doesn’t know enough to be here. You should have stayed away.” Jake said, “you’ll give yourself away. The pair of ya, then what do I tell Jackie?”

“Then HELP HER. Help us. She’s clever. Stick with us. Feed Rose what information she needs to know. I know you miss--your friends. I’m sorry Mickey left. I am so sorry. But we’re here. We don’t need your help...we’ll muddle through but you could make it easier. You could help Rose. Ten floors left. Make a choice.”

Jake frowned, conflicted. “Rose went to another dimension with Micks.”

“I could be your friend,” Rose added. “I don’t know anything about being friends, so you can take advantage and I’m rich, I’m rich aren’t I?” She reached out and this time he didn’t flinch when she touched his arm. Rose beamed.

“Five floors,” the Doctor said, voice cold. “Three floors. Come on. Choose a side. You want to help Sean? He dissected a Zarbi alive. Two. One…”

Jake nodded. “Right. Stand up straight. Walk like you own the place because your dad does. Don’t let anyone question you. You know everyone. Act like it. I’ll give you hints. Everyone has name badges. I’ll warn you if they have a nickname by tapping on your foot. They’re going to call you, ‘Agent Tyler’ or Rose. Avoid Sean Martin and Suzie Costello,” Jake said in a rush as the bell sounded and the doors opened.

The Doctor offered Jake his hand. They shook on it. Both men drew power from the connection. Rose let go of the Doctor’s arm and stood up straight again. She pretended she was in charge. Inside she was shaking. The Doctor tangled their fingers, gripping. “Everyone knows you’re crazy about me,” he whispered in her ear.

Rose snorted. She turned to Jake. He nodded. Oh.

“Agent Tyler! Back from medical leave already? Pete said you’d need at least another month to recuperate from the dimension-hopping,” a woman said stepping forward, extending her hand. Rose gripped it firmly, shaking once, twice, then releasing. The Doctor ignored the woman’s hand. He had recovered the tablet from somewhere and was flipping through information too rapidly for Rose to track. The woman was waiting for some kind of response. She had lovely medium tan skin with not a single blemish on her and loads of lovely curly brown hair. Her eyes were large and friendly.

“Suze,” Jake drawled, “Rose isn’t official today.”

Suze’s face fell. “Oh no?”

A rush of nerves went through Rose. She wasn’t supposed to talk to this woman and she meets her first? “No, not yet,” Rose added. “I’m here for moral support.”

The Doctor smirked. 

“You ah, know how Rose feels about first contact and our protocols,” Jake remarked. He flashed her an exaggerated frown. Right. Rose Tyler hated first contact protocols. Why? Well, if it were her it would be because of safety?

“We don’t want any incidents today,” Rose said in what she hoped was an authoritative voice.

The Doctor handed the tablet to Jake. His rich brown eyes were broiling over with mirth. She’d hit her mark for sure with that one. She resisted the urge to smile at him. He piled on, saying, “Agent Costello is better with dead things, aren’t you?”

“I’m not the only one but I do handle the bulk of the necropsies,” Suze said with an offended air. “There’s loads to be learned from cutting up the bodies and testing the fluids, tissues…”

Ew. Rose glanced at Jake. He made the frowny face again. Rose straightened her shoulders and affected a breezy tone saying, “Well, these aliens are alive, so…”

“I…yeah, yes of course. I’ll leave you and the Doctor to carry on.” The woman stalked away.

Jake whispered, “Well done! Just like your predecessor, although you didn’t call her names. Hope she doesn’t notice how polite you were, the monster. Stay away from her, okay, Rose? Never let that woman catch you alone. If I’d known they let people like her in, I would’ve stayed with the Preachers.”

“You were a preacher?”

“I think he would have made a great preacher, Geordie accent et al. It’s charming.” The Doctor remarked, leading them down a hall and away from the main bullpen. Most of the walls were a stark white. It was so impersonal, cold. Rose felt light-headed. The Doctor dragged her along in his wake. “Come on. The ship’s specs suggest it was one of the friendlier species. I’d like to have a chat. See if they need our help. Get them out of here before Suzie convinces some green recruit to shoot one.” 

Rose’s shoes clicked against the gray tile floors. A picture of Pete sat on the wall. He looked very severe in his black suit, not like the dressing gown she’d last seen him in. He also had more hair. The Doctor’s grip tightened. He pulled her in close to himself. Rose got a hit of his rich scent and the warmth of his body along her back. He buzzed a metal arc with his torch thing as they slipped past. It flashed red then green. Jake snorted. Rose didn’t understand. The Doctor smirked at Jake.

A woman of Japanese descent with lovely glossy brown shoulder-length hair, a friendly face and warm brown eyes stepped out of a glassed-in room. She was in a lab coat with purple splatters on it. “Over here,” she called. 

“Injuries?” the Doctor asked.

“Minor. Two are unconscious, one, a smaller one is waking up. The translator isn’t making it out. They’re crying…” The woman opened the door for them with a nine-digit code, waving them in. Her eyes lingered on Rose. “So, I didn’t do such a shit job after all.”

The Doctor blushed. “I said I was sorry.”

“No, you didn’t. You said you may need to apologize but to not hold my breath,” the woman retorted.

“Well, there you go,” the Doctor replied as if that were the end of it. 

The woman clearly didn’t think so but she was a professional. “I’ve never seen purple blood before. What species are they?”

“Trinillo,” the Doctor said softly.

Rose was so busy with the humans, she had missed the aliens! Rose turned to see two vaguely bipedal shapes laid out on camp beds. The third alien was out of their bed and sitting on the floor in the corner. Long violet braids stretched from its head to the floor, twitching weakly. Small round black eyes watched them. Big tears leaking out of those eyes, slipped down high cheekbones to a smooth lipless face. The nose was made up of two diagonal slits. The tiny hands gripped tiny knees. If they stood up, Rose thought they might reach her chest. “Is it a child?” she asked the room.

“Hello,” the Doctor greeted, his voice sounding tinny and dual-layered. “You’re a long way from Trini. Shouldn’t you be picking gafla berries right now, instead of sitting in this strange smelling place? I’m the Doctor. I’m a friend.” His voice returned to normal when he answered her, “Yes, Rose, this is a young Trinillo. He’s not much more than a hatchling.”

Rose approached the young alien. “Hey, don’t cry. The Doctor’s going to help.”

The Doctor’s strange tinny voice was back when he addressed the alien. “What’s your name?”

“Heglin,” the alien answered. “My cousin thought it would be fun to steal a dog. Or a cow or something. Earth pets are so cool. Leglin hit a tree. Is he alright?”

The Doctor stood up and scanned the other two aliens. He held up his device. “This is a sonic screwdriver. It takes out screws. It scans for life signs. It opens locks, it reassures people. Your cousin hit his head. He’ll have a nasty headache and he’s got a few scarier looking marks but they’re superficial cuts. And this is…?” he asked, indicating the other bed.

“Jarra, Leglin’s friend.” 

“Well, Jarra has a fractured arm. We’re going to set it. Might look a bit scary. She is going to be fine. Would you like to sit with my friend Rose while we treat them?”

Heglin nodded. Rose sat beside him. She offered the small alien her hand. He took it, his six fingers wrapping around her palm. Rose beamed. Heglin smiled back. The Doctor’s voice reverted to normal as he addressed Tosh. “You were right. Minor injuries. They can’t have penicillin. Or… hmm, what was it?” He snapped his fingers, shouting, “Peanut butter!”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I never joke about peanut butter.” 

“Can we negotiate with them, Doctor?” Jake asked.

“They’re joyriding kids!” The Doctor grabbed some gauze and alcohol wipes. “Not sure what kind of negotiating we can do without their parent’s permission.”

Heglin climbed into Rose’s lap. The alien settled against her, watching as Tosh gently set Jarra’s arm. The Doctor explained what he was doing to Heglin the entire time. Each time his voice would change and change back when addressing the humans. Heglin whispered into her hair that he was scared. His voice sounded tinny too. Rose hugged him giving what comfort she could. The little alien gave off a scent like a spring meadow. The braided tendrils of his hair flicked around like she imagined Medusa’s hair did. She was in awe of Heglin. His grip was strong. His grip relaxed as he settled against her. His skin felt fuzzy like velvet. Rose whispered comforting things back to him. She wasn’t sure he could understand her but he seemed to calm the more she talked.

“That’s it! Everyone is fine.” The Doctor clapped his hands together. “Heglin, should we call your parent group? If you have a frequency?”

Hours later, the youngsters were on their way home. The Doctor had gained access to the spaceship’s specs, and Rose gained a friend. Exhausted, Rose sat down in a hallway. Tosh sat down next to her. She had shed her lab coat. Her hair was a mess and she pulled her glasses off of her face to regard Rose.

“You look healthy,” Tosh said.

“I feel healthy.” 

Tosh nodded. “And your memories?”

“No, sorry,” Rose replied, tucking a loose lock of blonde hair behind her ear. 

Tosh slumped. “Damn. I was sure the process would work. Maybe I haven’t earned that apology after all.” She perked up Is your memory functioning? How are your motor skills? Any headaches or aftereffects? Halos in your vision? Headaches? Body aches? Can I take blood? I’d love to examine you.”

“Erm, I, thanks, for helping me become me.” Rose grinned at her. 

The women smiled at one another.  
“I don’t think he’s going to let you take my blood.”

The Doctor appeared. He offered each woman a hand and pulled them to their feet. “My work here is done. Let’s go Rose.”

Rose stopped him, tipping her head toward Tosh. “Doctor…”

“Yes, right. Thank you...for today and for… Rose. Even if I had to do most of the heavy lifting.” He sniffed and Rose poked him. “You did the best you could.”

Rose arched a brow. Tosh laughed. “I think that’s the best I’m going to get, Rose.”

The Doctor graved her with his genuine smile. “Let’s go home.”

“Um,” Rose worried her lip, “can we make a stop on the way?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Jackie Tyler... Thanks for the comments friends!


	12. Universes Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose revisits where she was born.

“I need to work for Torchwood,” the Doctor said, to his surprise. It had to be the stupidest thing he’d said since losing a heart and getting abandoned on a beach in Norway. The words felt gross in his brand new mouth. Wait, that taste could have been the tea he’s just drunk which tasted more like butane than Earl Grey… Didn’t matter. He was getting distracted. He scrubbed at his tired eyes, dislodging his glasses. Behind him, floating in blue nutrient glop was an almost Rose Tyler. He needed to work for the Torchwood/UNIT hybrid for her. He was going to do everything in his power to protect her from her enemies and her well-meaning yet incredibly stupid friends.

Pete leaned against the doorjamb. He was freshly showered and dressed. There were signs that the Doctor had upset him terribly fourteen hours ago. He looked down at the remains of several appliances he was in the process of disassembling and back up at the elder Tyler. Pete let out a breath. “Yeah, suppose you will. No chance you’d let us handle Project Phoenix now that you’ve seen her.”

“Saved her...Saving her. It’s a work in process…” 

“Owen and Tosh assured me she was thriving,” Pete argued. 

Hot rage settled into his single, rapidly beating heart, burning away his empty depression. He ruffled his greasy hair. When was the last time he’d showered? He plucked at his clothing. The little bits of human he’d obtained from Donna were all incredibly annoying. Bacteria ran rapid in his stomach, under his arms, and in other areas which made him sweat and stink after twelve hours of moderate action. And the need to eat and relieve oneself was so often with his new inefficient endocrine system. Luckily he retained all his kidneys or he’d die from the impurities in human food. His stomach rumbled. He should never have thought about food. When was the last time he’d eaten? Did it matter? Yes, a loud familiar voice said in his head. Dumbo, it added.

“She needs me.” The Doctor said aloud.

Pete arched his brows. 

“I-I-I,” he stammered, “I need to be the one to oversee her. I need,” he tugged on his ear, “to monitor her constantly. I need to fix all of this. It’s a mess. I want her to live, Pete,” he trailed off. Had he been shouting at people earlier? He blinked owlishly, remembering a small woman and a man with thin lips. Jackie had been here too… when he’d found a way to slow down Rose’s development to save her intelligence and lifespan. There were still so many things to do to make this atrocity work. Pete entered the room, sidestepping the debris to approach Rose. The Doctor bit back a growl. She wasn’t safe enough for visitors. Her nervous system was delicate. He still had to fix...so many things like her bone density. Rapid growth encouraged early-onset osteoporosis. He wasn’t having that.

“There’s an office down the hall from here, three doors... You start immediately after you go home and get some sleep and a shower. I’ll funnel you research for most of the week. If you still have the same mind as the original you, it should be child’s play, giving you plenty of time for Project Phoenix. But there are two conditions. One: You have to do actual work for us. I am going to assign you work and missions. UNIT’s First Contact Protocols are terrible. Torchwood’s are worse. I need someone on site who can keep the aliens in one piece.”

“That’s...UNIT is brilliant at first contact…”

“Not here. And this is the one you’re not going to like…”

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the roots. 

“Two: You tell no one that Rose left for another dimension. As far as anyone here knows, Rose Tyler is on Medical Leave, having been injured while saving our asses..”

“What?” The Doctor stood up in protest. “Why?” He glanced back at the girl in the nutrient soup. “Oh, in case this works…”

“Is it going to work?” Pete asked.

The Doctor tilted his head and shrugged. “Well, she’ll live.”

“And the rest?” Pete asked, reaching out to touch the warm glass. 

The Doctor came up beside him. “Too soon to tell, I’m afraid.”

“I want to see the lab again,” Rose said as they exited to the street. 

The Doctor’s smile turned sour. “Rose,” he whined, scratching at his five o’clock shadow, “why do you want to go there? We’ve taken everything out of there that was useful. I was hoping to get some takeaway.”

“Mm, not hungry,” Rose murmured even as her stomach rumbled, betraying her. “Fine, chips on the way?”

Capitulating, The Doctor took her hand. “Let’s go Canary Wharf then.”

Security was scant. The Doctor waved a badge at an old man in uniform and he waved them through. Once they were inside another elevator, he lectured, “Most of Torchwood was absorbed into UNIT. Canary Wharf only has a skeleton crew. It’s a relic.”

“Why did Torchwood get absorbed?”

“No idea, I never bothered to ask. Money?” The Doctor shrugged. He looked a bit green around the gills. “I’ve had them move most of my stuff to BigBen. If you go to work there, you’ll be there and I want to be where you are. Besides, this building has been the home to so many unspeakable events. It’s right that it closes down.”

Rose had a funny little turn. “I was born here.”

The Doctor glanced at her. “Yes, the one shining moment in this abattoir. We should commission a plaque.” He wrapped an arm around Rose’s shoulders and drew her to him. He was smiling. Rose wasn’t falling for it. He was positively grim. “Of course, no one can ever know you were born here...so…”

“We could write the plaque in your language. No one would know but us,” Rose offered.

He squeezed tighter, dropping a swift kiss onto the top of her head. “Yes.”

The elevator doors opened into a gunmetal gray hall. The Doctor let go of her shoulders and strode forward. “C’mon. Maybe we’ll find something the soldiers left behind.” Rose paused. She remembered being bundled up in the Doctor’s jacket and rushed down this hallway before she was smuggled into a car and driven to the mansion. It was only a few days ago now. Felt like another life. The Doctor stopped. “Rose? We don’t have to do this. We can go back to our flat.”  
She liked that word, ‘our.’ Her heart sped up to double time. “No. I want to see.”

He typed in a code on the small blue keypad beside the nondescript lab door. The room opened up. Rose gagged as the scent of soup slammed into her. Instant transportation back to the moment when she burst out of the cracked tube had her blinking tears away. The room was large and dark. The Doctor flipped a switch and the overhead lighting buzzed into existence. 

“What a mess!” Rose exclaimed.

“We swept up most of the glass,” the Doctor said, drifting over to the bank of what had been computers. “The nutrient fluid was wonderful for growing strong bones. Not so great for computers. What didn’t fry up immediately was damaged by the salt and the wet.” He flicked some switches on a mainframe. Nothing happened. He buzzed at it with his sonic. A few pathetic sparks were coaxed out into the open air before they were replaced by the scent of burnt electrics.

Rose walked over to the ruined tank she had been born out of. Large chunks of glass jutted up from the floor, and down from the ceiling like cave teeth. Blue residue clotted in the corners. She closed her eyes, remembering the weightless feeling of the tube. “It’s so Spock, isn’t it?”

“Rose Tyler, have you been watching Star Trek?” he demanded as he kicked open a panel and ripped out what might have been a heating element from a toaster. “I only left you alone for a few hours…”

Rose bit her lip. 

“What’s wrong?” The Doctor was by her side.

“I don’t know what StarTrek is…” she whispered. “I thought it meant alien tech.”

A delighted grin appeared on his handsome face. “Yeah, well, if you got the language download from Rose’s memory matric, that’s exactly what you’d think ‘Spock’ means. It’s fine, Rose, really. You’re okay. We can watch it later. I’ll even tell you about the night I spent with Gene Rodenberry. For someone who pushed for equality, his scripts were a bit pervy in their descriptions of women. He and I had it out in a parking lot…”

Rose tuned him out. If she had Rose Tyler’s vocabulary verbatim, what else did she have? Skills? Rose was a team leader for a super secret government program, could she shoot guns or take things apart? Was she tech savvy? 

“Rose? Do you want to leave?”

Rose stared at the broken womb for a long moment. It was a bit Spock. She was a bit Spock. “Yeah, let’s go back to our flat.” 

He noticed her emphasis on ‘our’ because his chinks were faintly pink. He ushered her out of the lab before turning out the lights. “I’ll be dismantling this lab soon.”

“You don’t want more clones of me running around?” Rose asked.

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” He asked, eyes twinkling.

Jackie Tyler was sitting on her sofa. Rose was giggling at some silly story the Doctor was telling and didn’t notice the woman until she flipped the light switch. Rose balked, backing up into the Doctor. He caught her shoulders, giving them a comforting squeeze before moving past her. He kicked off his chucks, tossed his ID badge in a glass bowl several meters away, and flopped down next to Jackie on the sofa. “Hello, Jackie.”

Jackie Tyler reached out and ruffled his hair. 

“Oi,” the Doctor grumbled without moving away from her. He actually slung an arm around the older woman and tucked her up against him. 

Warily, Rose kicked off her own trainers and headed for the armchair. It was the same rich wine color as the couch except for a strange burn in the arm. Someone had tossed an afghan over it to hide it but Rose had noticed the ragged edge and bit of fluff poking out when she had been alone in the room. She picked at the fluff now, unsure what to do or say or…

“Hiya,” she managed.

“Hiya,” Jackie replied, a faint smile touching the corners of her mouth. “I was stocking the fridge for himself…”

“That’s where all the yogurt is coming from! I thought we had a Link ‘un ‘pupolortus in here!” The Doctor snapped his fingers. “The bananas too?”

Jackie sighed.

“No Link ‘un ‘pupolortus on Earth! Right, stupid,” the Doctor muttered, winking. “I hate yogurt. It's just stuff, with bits in.”

“It’s good for you. You don’t half eat like Tony. You’ve lost a stone since you’ve got here and you had no extra meat to speak of on that skinny stick frame of yours.” Jackie gave him a once over. “You are eating?”

“Yes,” the Doctor said. “Rose can vouch for me. Ate a portion of chips. Nicked a few of hers. Had one of those street kebabs too from a cart too,” he banged his fist against his chest, burping inelegantly, “oops, still, mark of a good meal, a burp. On Treeela it’s an insult not to burp after a meal. Martha and I got locked up because she was too polite to burp.” His nose wrinkled. “Had to give her a bunch of soda pop to get her to do it.”

Rose’s eyebrows arched. The Doctor had mentioned a Martha Jones before in connection to her ex-boyfriend Mickey. She leaned in. “Martha traveled with you?”

The Doctor nodded, wistfully. “Yeah, long time ago now. What can we do for you, Jackie?”

Jackie’s eyes traveled around the room. “Wish you’d let me get a decorator in here,” she complained. Rose rankled. The Doctor barked out a laugh. “Your taste in decorating is atrocious. I’m not having any of the hideous wallpapers you put up in your mansion. No, nope. And don’t go on about rugs again, thanks.”

“It gets cold in here! A nice bear rug would be just the thing-”

“No, no, no, the bear can keep his skin, thanks.” The Doctor pulled away so he could properly glare at Jackie. Jackie slapped at him.

“Says the man who practically wears the same thing day after day. Honestly, how my daughter puts up with you,” Jackie said then trailed off, her eyes shiftily sneaking glanced at Rose.

The way the Doctor was sinking into the cushions beside the woman let Rose know that these were all comfortable topics for the pair of them. Traced and retraced like a mud path, the two argued to settle in, like a nightcap. The Doctor was easing Jackie Tyler’s anxiety by goading her into old arguments. The Doctor caught her eye, arching a brow.

“He’s alright, I suppose, if you like having someone around who never sits on a chair properly,” Rose ventured.

The Doctor pretended to be offended, sniffing, reflexively.

“He’s all elbows. He’s got dozens of them. Alien thing,” Jackie replied without heat.

“And at least as many knees,” Rose added.

“Yes, yes,” the Doctor said testily, “I’m incapable of sitting without sprawling. Delightful. Tea?” Before anyone could answer, the Doctor popped up and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the women alone. Rose could hear him puttering around, humming some weird tune.

“How are you, sweetheart?” Jackie asked, tentatively.  
“Fine, good, great,” Rose stammered, “really.”

Jackie glanced down at her hands. “Tony misses you.”

Awkward. Rose was awkward. “Please don’t guilt trip me. I’m not coming back to the mansion. At least, not for a while.”

“I’m not-well, yeah suppose I am. Sorry. Not sure what to do with you. I love you, my darling. I want to mother you like I do that one. I want-Rose, oh, Rose, I don’t want to be strangers. You’re my daughter.” Jackie’s lovely blue eyes locked onto Rose.

“Jackie,” Rose began and Jackie flinched, “We are strangers. We just met. I don’t know anything about you or Tony or Pete or…” her eyes drifted to the kitchen, “anyone. I need time to figure myself out. We talked about this.” They had shouted about it.

Jackie’s eyes leaked tears. Rose’s heart broke. Jackie nodded. “I’ll go.”

“No, don’t go,” Rose reached out to stop the older Tyler from leaving. “Sit down. Have tea. Tell me about you and Rose or better yet, you and Tony. Tell me all about Tony. How’s that sound?”

“Yeah, alright. It’s a place to start.”

“Is he always so…” Rose trailed off, unable to describe how overwhelming the little boy had been.

Jackie laughed. “Oh yes, Pete says so all the time. He’s too smart for his own good, our Tony,” Jackie began, “I said to Pete that he would be because our Rose was whip-smart too and prone to trouble.”

The Doctor reappeared, dropping a plate of biscuits onto the coffee table. That freed up a hand so he could dole out mugs of tea. None of them matched and all of them were chipped. Rose hadn’t had a chance to explore the kitchen yet. The spoons were also mismatched. The sugarbowl looked as if it had been painted by a two-year-old. The milk container was a green cow.

“Tony stole my sonic once and nearly knocked the entire library down on his little ginger head, the beast,” the Doctor added as he put five sugar cubes into his tea. “I’d be upset except he got it without me noticing. Brilliant!” 

“Brilliant! He nearly died you plonker. I boxed his ears for it,” Jackie growled.

“And mine,” the Doctor added to Rose’s amusement. He tucked his legs up underneath him. “I’m going to teach him transdimensional maths when he’s older. He’s got a head for it, I’ll bet.”  
“No, he’s going to be a lawyer, not a transdimensional whatsits.” Jackie added two sugars and took a bit of milk. “Or a regular medical doctor, or even an inventor like his dad. So, don’t you go corrupting him, filling his head all full of stars. I’ve seen that coral of yours in your room. You’re growing a Tardis, aint ya?”

“Oh,” he puffed, “I’m still the Doctor. What’s the Doctor without a Tardis? Did you see her fish?” Animated, the Doctor slopped tea on the couch. Jackie tutted, grabbing the tea towel and placing it over the mess. 

A golden light appeared midair. Jackie yelped, shrinking back into the sofa muttering about alien invasions. The light dimmed into a bubble of water. “Ian!” Rose cried to the little goldfish who was swimming within the bubble. He reached the edge and the bubble moved with him. The fish floated merrily around the room to the Doctor’s utter delight.

“She’s made him an exo-suit! Look at that! He can explore anywhere as long as he has his little bubble. Aw, look at you, Chesterton!” The Doctor reached out, tapping the bubble with his index finger. The surface glowed blue bowing like a surface tension of a soap bubble. 

“What the hell is that?!” Jackie demanded. She stood up to eye up the little fish. “Is that an alien fish?”

“No, he’s a goldfish. I...got him at the pet shop.” Rose reached out to run her hand along the bubble. Tingles, not unlike static electricity ran through the nerves making her fidget. Ian darted away from them, preferring to explore in large lazy circles in the corners of the room.

“How is he doing that?” Jackie’s voice had lost the sharper edges and glowed with curiosity. “That’s like a hamster ball for a fish.”

The Doctor nodded. “Or a submarine.” He switched to his musical language, calling out to the coral. Rose couldn’t understand him but the thinking feeling filled the room and Ian winked out. The women gasped. He waved a hand to allay their fears. “I reminded her that the oxygen supply was finite in a water bubble. Ian’s back in his tank.”

“That’s amazing!” Jackie raced into the other room to check. “He is! The fish is fine,” she called.

Rose smirked. Jackie Tyler was lovely when she wasn’t mothering Rose. Maybe she could just mother Ian instead? The Doctor dragged Jackie away from the coral room leading her back to the couch. “Now, now, leave them alone. Eat a biscuit. I’ve got hobnobs and custard creams.”

“Yeah, only coz I brought them over.”

“Quit moaning, and eat two before I get to them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. This week was lousy with work and projects. Podcasting through Skype was an interesting experience. More soon. Let me know what you think about Ian the Goldfish and his new ability to have adventures.


	13. The Defender of the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past is catching up with Rose.

"Doctor! Doctor,” a man called out as the Doctor crossed the bullpen, hands in pockets. 

Pete had called him this morning pulling rank and dragging him away from Project Phoenix to take a look at a piece of alien tech they’d recovered from the Atlantic Ocean. It had been discovered floating off the coast of Georgia in the US glowing faintly pink. Was it called the US here? He slowed, frowning. He had been alive for three weeks and he hadn’t bothered to learn a blessed thing about Pete’s World. “Huh.”

“Oh, good, you’ve stopped. I’ve been trying to get near you since the stars came back. But first, you were in quarantine then Jackie begged off…” The tall stocky man had messy dark curls and a good face, friendly with a few days of stubble. “Clive, Clive Finch. I worked with Rose on the Dimension Cannon.” He stuck out a bear-like paw. 

The Doctor arched a brow. Except for Jakey-Boy, everyone from the Torchwood side of UNIT had been cold bordering on hostile. All of them knew of him, most of them didn’t like what they’d heard, and it showed in their acidic stares. This man must be from the UNIT side. He looked pleased as punch to be shaking hands with the Timelord. 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Finch,” he chirruped.

“Clive, please, Mr. Finch makes me feel like I should be working at a bank.” A delicate shudder went through the man and the Doctor took an instant liking to him. “Can I talk to you for a moment? Not here though, we’re being watched. My office?” Clive didn’t wait for a response. He loped toward a large double office. 

The Doctor scratched a sideburn, eyed the nosy neighbors, and followed the man into his wonderful office. The bullpen was grey grey grey and sanitized. It didn’t even smell like toner. How could an office not smell like toner and microwaved fish? Clive’s office was a delightful relief. First, it smelled of tea, dust, and paper one of the Doctor’s favorite combinations. Second, it was packed with fun and interesting things! His fingers twitched. An investigation board covered one large wall. Pictures of several familiar species of alien plus their tech were connected by a charming amount of red string. Covering the boring gray carpet tiles, there was a large checkerboard rug in red and black on the floor. Several Salvatore Dali posters were haphazardly tacked up. Two desks sat with a wide space between them. One was drowning in manilla folders with notes stuck all over it. A mug of tea was precariously balanced on top of a stack of the folders. A tiny green bug-eyed alien toy stared balefully at the Doctor from its place inside a cup of pens. The second desk was neater with an empty IN/OUT tray. There was a framed photo that was facing away from him and a cup of pens with a sonic screwdriver sitting inside it. 

“Is that--?” He approached the desk. He snatched up the frame flipping it over. It was him! Rose had a picture of him on her desk in his suit. How did she--? Security cameras? 

“Rose’s desk, yes. We worked together closely since she pulled me out of my home dimension,” Clive said. The Doctor filed that little nugget of interesting info away for another time as Clive moved the mug off his pile of files, hunting for something. “How is Rose? She never showed signs of fatigue during the project. I kept telling her to take time off. Even suggested Jackie and I could handle a few on our own or even Pete but she wouldn’t have it. No one took the risk if Rose didn’t.”

“Defender of the Universe,” the Doctor said softly plopping the frame back onto the desk.

“Yeah,” Clive laughed, “She is. It makes sense she would need time away… Tell me than Doctor, is she really okay? Is she--?”

“Fine,” the Doctor lied. 

Clive made a face. “Mm. Listen, Doctor, I know a lot more than most around here. You can tell me the truth. Was she injured? Did she stay in that other dimension? We’ve never been out of contact for this long.”

“Clive,” the Doctor began, unsure what to tell him. He flicked his eyes meaningfully toward the camera he wasn’t supposed to see sandwiched in between the posters and down to the microphone in the alien toy’s eyes. Clive nodded. The Doctor reached out and swiped the sonic from Rose’s mug of pens. It was slim, metal, and identical to his down to the blue gem at the end. How did she get it? Welp, it was his now. Flipping it, he slipped it into his jacket. The comfortable weight eased the tension in him. One more piece of the Doctor puzzle returned. Now he could build that shattrify unit in triple time! 

The Doctor thought of Rose’s clone floating in thick blue liquid, her eyes still sealed shut and her bones slowly strengthening from the changes he’d made just this morning. She was coming along but she wasn’t going to get those memories… He had considered removing the matrix and found it wired into every piece of tech like a spider’s web. Tearing out the filaments would destroy the whole mess. Letting out a breath he answered honestly, “Rose went through, and is going through a lot. I’m ah, hoping she never wants to come back here.”

Clive nodded. “Is this about Sean?”

Rose’s day had been the longest of her life so far. Cleaned up, dressed in pajamas, she slipped into the big bed. The Doctor kept insisting he wasn’t tired. He’d gone back to working on the box of files. Lying there, she stared up at the ceiling. Her skin felt itchy. She twitched and scratched lightly at her stomach but the feeling wasn’t on her skin but in it, deep in it. 

Ian appeared over her bed in his fish submarine. The bubble zoomed around the room as the fish explored. A minute later, he vanished in a golden glow. She heard the Doctor laugh and assumed Ian had gone that way. Minutes later he came in dragging his box with him.

“I found this readout among yours,” he said as if he were continuing a conversation. He plopped the paper down and climbed onto the bed next to her, fully dressed. The itchy feeling faded. Rose sighed, sinking into the bed in relief. He didn’t notice, engrossed in his readout. He stretched out several sheets of an EEG. The squiggles looked vastly different from the ones that Rose had scanned-was it only the day before? “It’s not yours.”

“So? Someone put someone else’s EEG in with mine by mistake, probably.”

The Doctor nodded. His glasses slipped down his nose balancing precariously on the tip. “Maybe… Or maybe it was put there for a reason,” he mused, pushing the glasses up and flipping a few more pages. “This sheet is from someone who is awake and active. Yours are all sleeping since you hadn’t gained consciousness yet.”

“That’s why it’s more squiggly? Because the person is awake? Otherwise, it’s normal?” Rose asked, stifling a yawn.

The Doctor shook his head. “Well, it would be normal if it were a Traken.”

Rose rolled over so she could hold her head up with one hand. “What’s a Traken?”

“Species, bipedal, looks just like us,” the Doctor murmured. “Doesn’t matter. This is from a human.” He flipped a few more pages, pointing to the peaks and valleys on the graph. “Something tells me this is Rose’s EEG. And that it was left for us on purpose.”

Rose let go of her head and collapsed to the bed again. “Why?” she asked frustrated. Everything was always about her… the other Rose.

He shrugged. “Probably as a comparison for you… To test your brain against hers? Or no, to show me something? A breadcrumb? Why would she bother? She helped create you. Maybe it’s for you? To show you something?”

“It’s not normal, though… Mine are normal.” Rose argued. Exhaustion tugged at her. If Rose did leave it for her, she didn’t need or want it. She was her own person. “I don’t need to see her brain waves… I need to sleep.”

The Doctor fell silent.

“Sorry, m’tired and cranky.” 

The Doctor shucked his jacket. He settled down next to her on the bed above the covers. Unbuttoning his cuffs, he rolled up his sleeves and settled in for a long night of reading. Rose arched her brows at him. He smiled down at her. 

“Not sleeping?” 

He shook his head. “I don’t need to sleep as often as you. Four hours a night is optimal, I think. I’ve been ignoring this body’s needs, mostly. I can go back to the living room if I’m disturbing you?” 

“No, stay.” Rose settled down. Her hand reached out and settled on his hip bone. 

Rose woke to the scent of breakfast. Wrapped like a burrito in the duvet, Rose struggled to free an arm, her hair wild and in her eyes. “Mmph?”

Her stomach rumbled. A boyish giggle escaped the Doctor. Blinking, she spotted him in the doorway holding a tray. He must have gone to sleep at some point since he was wearing striped pjs. “I was going to ask you if you were hungry but the rumble gave it away. Your appetite should be increasing by the day. Humans eat three meals a day and two snacks. Yesterday you managed toast, tea, and chips. That’s...terrible for your diet. I’ve prepared a vitamin rich breakfast to fill in the gaps. You might need a multivitamin for a few weeks to avoid hair loss.” 

Rose’s hands went to her thick locks. “What?”

He sniffed entering the room to walk right up onto the bed and crash down beside her. 

“You’ll spill the tea!” Rose exclaimed, grabbing for the tray.

Grinning, the Doctor set the tray up between them. He lifted the cloche to reveal normal breakfast items like tea, toast, and jam. There was also a bowl of something fragrant, a plate of sliced fruit, some cold meat, a small jar of peanut butter, and lastly tiny zebra striped cakes. Rose reached for the cake and he slapped her hand away playfully. “That’s my breakfast!”

“You can’t eat cake for breakfast!” Rose protested. 

“I’m a Timelord. I can see the past, the future, and the present and in all of those I’m eating cakes for breakfast.” He took a bite out of the cake. “I’ll also be eating some fruit. Start with the bowl of…” a guttural sounding word escaped him, “it’s not the original recipe since they don’t have…” another angrier word slipped out of him easily, “on Earth but it’s the same basic recipe. Taste it. Go on. It’s good!”

“Yeah, so not eating that,” Rose said and grabbed for the tea and toast.

He pouted. Rose relented and stuck a finger in the fragrant bowl of glop. Popping her finger into her mouth. Rose was unprepared for the explosion of flavors. The scent had been like flowers and cinnamon and earth. The flavor was sweet and hot like melted chocolate over a beef roast. The Doctor’s eyebrows were up and he was waiting for a response. Rose’s taste buds didn’t know what to say to her brain. “I-I think I like it?”

There was a knock at their door. Rose jumped. “How could someone get past the doorman?”

“Has to be someone who knows Perry. It’s your family, or Jake or…” The Doctor’s voice trailed off as he exited the bedroom. “Keep eating!” he called back to her.

Rose slid out of the bed. Grabbing a few slices of banana she followed him. He had padded down the hall on bare feet. He had opened the door. A man with dark curly hair was talking, gesturing wildly and holding a sheaf of papers. “I had a feeling before. I know now. I need your help, Doctor, and Rose. We need Rose for this one. I’ve got to talk to her. I know you and I think the same on the matter. I know because you know I’m not from here either. It’s not right. And if no one stops them…”

“Not here,” the Doctor said. “You can meet me later. We can devise a plan. We can…”

“Rose!” the man shouted. 

Rose took a tentative step forward. With a frustrated huff, the Doctor stepped back and allowed the man to enter their flat. He moved towards her brandishing the papers. “It’s exactly what we were worried about. You’re in trouble, Rose. He found the case we were building. He found the readings we took after the jumps. He has it all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is getting busier and busier. Enjoy the update. I love the comments. Thank you so much! Also, for those who love Ian the Goldfish, he is having a blast and will continue to make trips in his bubble.


	14. Headaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast and a guest comes over. Mickey makes an appearance in the flashbacks. I love Mickey.

Rose pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes pressing in an effort to relieve the pressure. She was slumped in her armchair after taking a hot shower. She could still smell the ozone laden air days after that place. The glow...so bright and eerily familiar. And now the headaches…

Her head felt as if her brains were leaking out her ears. She had gone on two more jumps before the headache started. One trip to an alternate Henricks where she wasn’t working, thank god! She worked at Weatherspoons and had been a redhead. Still, could be worse. The second, She’d run into Shareen looking healthier and happier than Rose had ever seen her. She’d been married to Mickey and had a baby on the way until the Nestine… Pete had gone on that one and had dragged Rose out of the pit where without anti-plastic she was helpless to stop the Nestine. She intended to find, create, and carry anti-plastic as soon as her head was free of brains.

Her phone rang, the gentle song shoving icepicks through her already overinflated and slightly soupy brains. A flash of a glass tank filled with blue appeared and vanished as she cried out, picking up the phone. To Stop. The. Pain. “Yeah?”

“Yeah? You called me, babe,” Mickey’s voice was a balm on her shattered nerves. “What’s going on? How was the last jump?”

Rose sat up. “Yeah, it was a tough one, not going to lie. Think I just needed to hear your voice,” she explained, wobbling to her feet to get an ice pack out of the freezer. “The regular Torchwood missions are startin’ to look good to me now.”

“Oh, ho, so bag ‘em and tag ‘em isn’t so beneath you now, huh Rose?” Mickey teased.

Rose bit back her response as a flood of tears slipped down her face. She took a deep breath. He was alive here. He was fine. She shoved a bag of frozen peas against her forehead. “Shutting down a cyber factory leftover, hunting weevils, scaring aliens out of ever wanting to have a proper first contact with us, nah, I’ll pass. I’m on the whole Universe saving thing now. Should come with me. Jump a few dimensions…” Her voice cracked.

“I’m comin’ over,” Mickey said. “Don’t argue. I know you better than anyone in this universe except maybe for Jacks. And you’re upset. Pizza?”

“Yes please,” Rose replied, not hiding her relief. 

Another flash of blue hit her. She was inside a tank of water? No, blue liquid. She was trapped! She was choking! Rose dropped her bag of peas, falling forward, slamming her knees into the hardwood floor. Bile rose with the sharp pain and she threw up acid all over the floor. A familiar laugh filled her ears before fading out. “Doctor?”

She was sure it had been him...that had been the Doctor’s laugh. “Hello?”

He didn’t answer. Of course, he didn’t answer. He was in another bloody universe!

Rose cursed. Forcing herself to get up, she rushed to clear up the mess before Mickey saw it. As she soaked a towel, she heard his voice again, screaming. Rose threw up again in the kitchen sink before blessedly the headache released. Relief flooded her as the doorman buzzed. She laughed. Mickey had already been on his way over with the pizza, hadn’t he? Rose swore she’d kiss him...right after she brushed her teeth. 

“This is everything we warned Pete about and more,” Clive said, thrusting the papers into her hands. “This is worse than scenario B.”

Rose widened her eyes in surprise. She didn’t know this man or his scenarios. She looked to the Doctor. His puzzled expression wasn’t exactly a source of comfort right now. He shrugged, brows arched, and mimed, ‘play along.’ “T-th-that’s bad.”

She glanced down at the papers. There were several reports. She flipped through them. Walking past Clive to the sofa, she sat down to read. The Doctor hovered. Clive followed her dropping down into the chair beside her. “It gets worse.”

“Turns out they were aware of our judicious editing of your medical files. Sean had Costello running parallel tests. That’s why some of your tests came back inconclusive and had to be rerun. Costello was using up the samples and blaming shoddy equipment.” 

Clive flipped the papers to the relevant report. Rose stared at the numbers. Pieces were highlighted in green, others red, some in pink. She lifted it free and turned it sideways. “How did no one notice?”

“End of the world tends to distract,” Clive said and smirked. Oh no, that was part of some sort of inside joke wasn’t it? The way he expected her to respond. She matched his smirk. “Well, doesn’t matter how.”

The Doctor reached out a hand for Rose’s test results. She handed them over. “Rose is human. She’s a normal everyday, garden variety human.”

“Oh, thanks,” Rose snarked, earning a laugh from Clive.

The Doctor ignored her, flipping through the reports like lightning. He could not be reading at that speed, could he? He made a face, dropped the sheets to the coffee table and quit the room. Rose was left alone with Clive. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pajama bottoms, hopping up. “Tea?”

“Yes, alright,” Clive agreed, eyes studying her.

Rose slipped into the kitchen. The kettle was easy. But she had no idea where anything else was in the kitchen. She grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator. She was absolutely lost on where the tea might be. Guessing, she opened the cupboard closest to the kettle. It was filled with bags and bottles of chemicals. Rose closed the door with a sigh.

“The tea’s in the canister on the shelf behind you,” Clive said, pointing.

“I knew that,” Rose said, biting her lip. She turned and opened it to see the traitorous little bags. Why couldn’t they have been in the cupboard? She was doing a shit job of being Rose Tyler. She opened a cabinet where the mugs should have been only to find fourteen varieties of cereal, mostly the rot your teeth sugary kinds.

Clive walked over. “Are you alright?”

“Me? Fine? Why do you ask? The Doctor probably just…” 

Clive opened the cabinet with the mugs and pulled down three. He placed them on the counter. Before she could even try to hunt the sugar bowl, it appeared. Clive also opened the drawer to grab spoons. Rose spun to lean against the counter. The kettled clicked off. Rose jumped, startled.

“Rose,” Clive began again, eyes filled with concern. 

“Yes, that’s me.” Rose poured boiling water into the mugs. The stress of pretending made her hands shake a little. Why couldn’t she just be her? And imagine if she went back to UNIT? “Maybe I should retire. I’ve saved the world enough. Someone else’s turn, right?” she asked, keeping her back to the nice man who probably thought his friend was having a nervous breakdown.

“You can’t.” 

“Why can’t she?” the Doctor asked, appearing just in time to grab his mug and add sugar. “We get her away from UNIT, no one cares what she does or who she influences.”

Clive stalked back to the couch with his mug of tea. Hot liquid splashed out a bit as he slammed the mug down. “No. That won’t help you. I’m sorry, Doctor, but Rose and I have discussed this. If she quits, she doesn’t have her father’s protection anymore. You made too much noise, Rose. You and Mickey stopped quite a few of the seedier experiments. They want you dealt with. They force you out. You have an accident. You stay in, you have an accident. We need to get them out before your brain ends up in one of Costello’s jars.” 

“I can…”

“Oh, and we’ve had this conversation before too, Doctor. They’ll pop your brain in a jar too. The pair of them love dissecting aliens. Rose is the one who stops them. They want to stop her and if they have to stop you to do it, Timelord autopsy time. We need a better plan than that. Because I tell you, my status is wrapped up in yours. I’m from another dimension too, remember.” Clive accepted the tea towel the Doctor tossed his way.

“The people from the old Torchwood still believe if it’s alien it’s theirs. That’s why Pete asked you to come on while Rose is recovering. How are you by the way? You seem jittery.”

“I am,” Roe began unsure what to say. She looked to the Doctor. “Glad to have found the Doctor. And exhausted from what happened on the…”

“Crucible,” the Doctor supplied, eyes going dull and flat like coins.

“Right, I ah…” Rose puffed out a breath. Jake was right. Without the other Rose’s memories, she was rubbish at pretending. She just didn’t have enough information.

“What’s going on here? No one let me talk to you for months after you got back from the crucible. I read the reports. You weren’t listed as injured. Yet… Ah,” Clive drawled. “Are you a different Rose? Did she die? She died.” He covered his mouth in horror. “Oh God, she died. And you’re an alternate Rose… like me. Rose said her Clive Finch was murdered by living plastic. How did she-? Was it quick?” 

Rose felt sick. She wrung her hands together. “I’m Rose Tyler… We used the…”

“Dimension cannon,” the Doctor supplied.

“Dimension cannon,” she repeated. “Listen, Clive, I’m not your Rose Tyler.” Clive’s face fell. Rose rushed to reassure him. “She’s not dead though…” She looked up to see the Doctor’s eyes darken in pain. “I erm, that is to say, she stayed in her original dimension.”

“Bullshit. Rose Tyler would never have left the Doctor behind.” Clive said with conviction.

“Well, there were extenuating circumstances,” Rose said, flustered. 

“No way. I worked with Rose for close to three years on the Dimension Cannon team. The one thing I am one hundred percent certain of is that she was head over heels for the Doctor and ready to tear the walls between the universes down with her bare hands to get back to him.” Clive stabbed a finger in the Doctor’s direction. The Doctor’s face was blank. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but if you hurt my friend, I’ll feed you to Sean myself.”

“How was Rose in the weeks leading up to the end of the mission?” the Doctor asked, tone mild empty of emotion. He was in the room but so removed from it and everyone in it. Rose sat down heavily on the armchair, her mug ignored, left behind on the counter. “Was she distant? Headaches?”

“Not distant. Rose and I are, were, friends. She never said she was in pain…”

“Rose was good at masking pain. Did she smile too brightly? Look away immediately?”

“Yeah, yes, a lot. And dammit, you’re right. I caught her taking pain tabs more than once. How did I not make the connection?” 

“Maybe you can’t be 100 percent certain of anything Rose Tyler would do then, am I right? If you didn’t even notice what she was going through? That she was in pain?” the Doctor said in a soft brutal tone. Clive flinched.

“Doctor, stop it,” Rose growled.

He didn’t. He pushed. “Did she set off the alarms? Register as contaminated? Have to be quarantined? Did she tell you she wasn’t planning on coming back? Did she mention a Project Phoenix? Ever see her with alien tech on a weekend? Did you know her at all Clive?”

Rose stood up. “STOP IT.”

The Doctor’s eyes flashed. “He’s her friend and he didn’t know here at all.”

“Now wait just a minute, Doctor. I went on missions with that girl. We saved lives together. We laughed and ate chips and talked about how wonderful you were. And when you came to UNIT, I was so shocked and excited to meet Rose’s other half. Then you…”

“I know what I did,” the Doctor shouted.

“Maybe Rose is the one who doesn’t know you at all, eh?” Clive said, standing up.  
The two men squared off. The testosterone was thick. Frustrated, she stood up. “Sit down Clive. Sit down, Doctor.” When neither moved, she barked, “NOW.”

Clive eased himself down. The Doctor came closer, eyes sparking. Rose grabbed his hand. She tugged him down next to her. Stiff with tension, he was sitting properly for the first time ever. It freaked her out. Clive muttered, “that’s more like it.”

“What was in the medical files?” Rose asked the Doctor. “Why did you leave the room? Did you want to compare it to the EEG?”

“Yes,” he bit out. “Rose’s medical records show a huge spike in… Artron energy. It’s the same energy you get drenched in time traveling. It’s all over me, Jackie, Clive here, Pete… It’s one of the things the Tardis runs on. The spike was on par with some sort of event. She touched something, or did something on one of her jumps that… I don’t know what it did.”

“But you knew it caused headaches. You know what it did,” Clive accused.

“No! I don’t. I know what it could do. I know what the readings suggested it did.”

“Tell me?” Rose asked, wrapping her hand around his, interlacing their fingers.

His free hand went into his hair, rugging and ruffling it. He was a coiled spring that only Rose could hold in one place. His leg started to jiggle. “It doesn’t make sense… But I think, I think that Rose may have become clairvoyant.”

Rose barked out a laugh. “Oh, come on. That’s impossible!”

“Never thought I’d hear you say that word,” the Doctor said.

“Rose Tyler doesn’t do ‘impossible.’”

“Yeah well, I’m not her, so shut it.”

“She sure sounds like her when she’s angry,” Clive mused.

“She’s gonna smack you if you keep referring to her as she.”

A snort of laughter escaped the Doctor. His grip on her fingers tightened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the Doctor do? Where is Ian the Goldfish in all of this? Will Sean kill Rose? Why did the Original Rose leave them all behind? Will the new Rose tear strips out of all these manly men around her? Stay tuned...


	15. Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Tyler being awesome. Ian... the Doctor being insecure...

“I’ve never seen anyone take to fieldwork as fast or as efficiently as Rose Tyler,” Brent Swift said, handing the paperwork over to Pete Tyler. “You must be proud as hell. First, you find out you have a long lost child and she turns out to be the greatest thing to hit Torchwood. Didn’t she help stop the Cybermen? I thought I saw her in the archival footage. Her and Rickey Smith? Right?”

Pete glanced at the scores and whistled. He was not exaggerating. Since recovering from her second bout of depression regarding that Doctor, Rose had redoubled her efforts to be the best at everything Torchwood. Mickey had warned him that nothing stopped Rose when she set her mind to it. The young man had been correct and then some. If only she took to being his daughter as well as she did to being a member of Torchwood. He slipped through a few more pages. “She’s taking the science classes as well, I see.”

Brent nodded. “Oh yes, she signed up for all the classes. She’s learning French as well. I’d be chuffed. My son is a more sedentary type. He’s a good man, a great accountant but he’s no soldier. Your Rose is something else.”

Pete smiled and if it was tight and thin-lipped, Brent didn’t notice. “I can’t keep her out of the field.”

“Why would you? She has the experience with aliens we need. She’s a natural leader, if a bit…” Brent hesitated, unwilling to say anything bad about the boss’ daughter. They were in Pete’s office. His imposing large walnut desk between them and a large portrait of him on the wall behind him. It was meant to be intimidating. Pete couldn’t blame the man for being susceptible. “In every one of the scenarios, if she has to sacrifice a team member, she won’t.”

“Explain,” Pete said, drumming his fingers against the desk to kill off nervous energy. This was not something he thought his wife would like to hear. Not that they were actually married here. He was going to make it official as soon as their child was born. He just needed to convince Jackie. She seemed to be hedging her bets with him even though she had moved into his room willingly and was now heavily pregnant. Pete put it down to wanting to see Rose settled before she was. She could wait until the cows came home, Rose Tyler was never going to be happy without her charming and dangerous alien boyfriend.

“Two days ago, we ran her through a scenario where two team members would have to be sacrificed for the mission to succeed. And she wouldn’t sacrifice them. She came up with an insane scheme to save them all,” Brent said, leg jiggling.

“Why is this a problem? Seems like Rose has a strong ethic. Protecting your team is an important leadership skill,” Pete remarked mildly.

Brent nodded. “Right, except it’s an important skill to learn. In war, sacrifices have to be made. Some people die as an acceptable loss or risk. She can’t accept the lesson even in practice. If someone has to die, she volunteers herself and then promptly figures out a way to save herself. It’s causing issues with the other teams.”

“How?”

“Because they want to do it too… They’re emulating Rose. Sean Martin thinks she might cause a problem in the field. Sacrifices need to be made in war. He thinks it could cause too many incidents of heroism.”

Pete smirked. He was damned proud of that young woman. She was brave. She was compassionate and if he was honest, a bit reckless. “I think Sean is seeing shadows where there aren’t any. Partner Rose with Jake Simmonds. She respects his judgment.”

“Martin says we shouldn’t pair her with her friends. It could increase her-”

“Heroism?” Pete arched a brow. “Tell Martin to get back to his reports and tell my daughter she starts on an active team Monday.”

“Yessir.” Brent’s chair scraped the floor as he stood up and beat a hasty retreat.

Pete opened his desk drawer and fished for the bottle of bourbon out. “God help me, I’ve got to go home and tell her mother she’s going to be a heroine...again.” 

Clive left. He’d agreed to run interference for her and teach her what she needed to know to bluff her way through her inevitable debriefing when she went to UNIT. Rose fell back against the couch cushions, emotionally exhausted. The Doctor smacked the breakfast tray down in front of her. “You didn’t eat.”

“Not hungry.” 

She could feel him standing beside her radiating angry energy. The itchiness returned. It felt centered behind her eyes this time. Her stomach roiled. Of course, the other Rose was a great leader, apparently, a self-sacrificing superhero who oh, could also see the future! What the hell was going on around here? It had been enough with the aliens, now there were supernatural elements? Who was Rose Tyler, really? Sounded like some sort of mythical Greek Goddess. 

“Rose…”

“No, I don’t want to bloody eat right now! I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to be reminded of the great Rose Tyler that I’m not. Leave me alone,” Rose snapped, temper flaring.

The energy in the room shifted with his moods falling from anger to depression like when the pressure dropped before a storm. Rose didn’t care. The room and the Doctor could push off for a moment and let her think. No one ever let her think! Everyone just wanted her to know and be Rose. He walked away. Rose let out a sigh of relief. She had thought the Doctor understood that she wasn’t her and would never be her and that he liked her anyhow. Insecurity bubbled prickly and uncomfortable under her skin. She let out a breath.

Minutes later, she heard the shower go on. Opening her eyes and sitting up, she was face to face with Ian in his bubble. He blinked one eye than the other at her. Rose gave a watery snort. 

He darted away toward the room between the bookcases before coming back around for her. He repeated the move two more times before Rose got the hint. Dragging her miserable self to her feet, she followed Ian. His bubble hit the glass wall of the tank and sort of phased right through the glass. The bubble popped and the goldfish circled the coral. A thick feeling of worry blanketed her.

Rose shrugged her shoulders to loosen them. “I’m alright.”

The thick feeling increased. Rose added fish flakes to the tank for Ian. “I am. I promise. It’s a lot.”

The air shifted to inquiry. Rose smiled. “S’like, I know I belong with ‘im. But I think he thinks he still belongs with her. And she’s like amazing! She probably saves puppies from house fires and adopts them all out herself while baking brownies or somethin’ daft and heroic like that. And I’m, I have no idea who I am. What I am. Not her. Just me. An’ I’m in here talking to an alien coral reef.”

Sympathy floated around her, lightening the air. Rose took a deep breath, imagining she could smell something fresh and grassy. The coral glowed faintly in the dim light. Ian zoomed around it, no her, merrily. Rose took a second deep breath then a third, letting the heaviness in her heart fade. 

“I bet I can do it too though,” she told the coral and fish. “I bet I could save the puppies. I bet I could bake the brownies. I could possibly save the world, right?”

A wave of agreement hit her. Rose giggled. “That was emphatic!”

Ian glowed golden. Rose watched as his fins grew more elaborate, spreading further like gossamer wings. Delicate clockwork circles appeared like delicate veins in the fins. His eyes blinked one then the other. Rose reached out to touch the glass. He zoomed over to regard her. 

“Wow, you’re beautiful!” 

“That’s-that’s what I say,” the Doctor said behind her. Rose spun to face him, irritation returning. She wasn’t ready for him yet. He scratched at his damp hair, letting it go to tug an ear awkwardly. “To you. I say that to you. Well, I am saying that now… Right now as a matter of fact because you are beautiful standing there next to my Tardis and her pet fish, absolutely breathtaking.” Leaning against the door jamb, he crossed one foot over his ankle to pretend he was causal.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yes, messy hair, pajamas and you want to tell me I’m beautiful.”

“Want? No, I did. Just then. Don’t you remember? It was ten seconds ago now,” he said stepping into the room. 

Rose took a step back, biting her lip.

He took a step back away from her, hurt flashing across his face. “Do you still want me to ah, leave you alone? I can. You do. I am. I’ll just…” He rotated on his heel and strode out of the room.

She lasted ten seconds before the need to be alone evaporated. She was being crazy and hurting him. And that felt wrong, wrong, wrong. The room gave her a mental prod. She didn’t need it. Rose chased after him. The living room was empty. “Moves fast, that one.”

Rose checked the bedroom, She checked the bathroom. She came back out to an empty kitchen and living room. Panicking, she whipped open the door of their flat and stepped outside to find him sitting on the floor, knees up to his chest. The tightness in her chest loosened. He didn’t lift his head when she approached. “Whatcha doing, Doctor?”

“Hm? I was going away…” he said.

“You didn’t get very far.” Rose crouched down in front of him, trying to catch his eye.

He nodded. “Erm, I didn’t,” he trailed off, tugging at his hair. “I didn’t want to be too far away from you. I get this feeling when we’re apart that it’s a mistake. I’m afraid to look at the timelines in case it means...something.” He glanced up at her, his eyes haunted. Rose flushed with guilt. She’d forgotten for a moment that the Doctor had been rejected by a Rose Tyler once before and he was waiting for her to do it too.

Rose moved to sit beside him, stretching out her legs and wiggling her toes. “I only wanted a minute to think. Not for you to run away from home.” She bumped his shoulder. 

“Home,” he muttered bitterly. 

“Yeah, home. Not turfing you out. That temper of yours,” Rose began, “shocks me every time.”

“Me too,” he confessed. “I’ve always been intense when I’m angry… The Oncoming Storm they called me…”

Rose snorted. “Get out! That’s-That’s something. You’re so full of yourself. They never called you that!” 

He turned to face her, legs stretching out beside hers. “They did! They… Oi! Stop laughing at me. I’m... I’ve been called the Destroyer of Worlds.”

“Well, that one’s just patently untrue. If you’re going to sit in the hallway making up mean nicknames for yourself, I’m going to get a shower. Hope you didn’t use up all the hot water.” Rose moved to stand and the Doctor caught her arm gently tugging her back down. Rose raised her eyebrows.

“There’s so much you don’t know about me.”

A chill ran down Rose’s spine. 

“There, you feel it now. It’s okay to tell me to go, Rose.” The Doctor’s eyes locked onto her face, searching.

“Not going to,” Rose insisted. “I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.” The Doctor kept his eyes on her. “I lie.”

“Never to me,” Rose argued.

“Not yet,” he said.

“Doctor, you choose to start lying to me and I’ll turf you out. Until then, I want you to stay. I was upset because I’m three days old and twenty-four years old. And I like you. And you love her.” Rose made a move to leave again. He caught her arm again. “What?”

“I have to be able to talk about her. It’s not fair to make me give up my memories. They’re all I have left of her, the Tardis, and me… the other me, the original. I was him. I am him. It’s all a part of me. I do love her… I also…”

Rose stopped him, covering his mouth. “Don’t. Only three days old, here. It’s too soon.” He slowly blinked his sad brown eyes. Rose released him. “I like you. You like me. That’s enough for now. Unlike my predecessor, I can’t see the future. I have to be content with now. But, I am going to ask you questions and you are going to answer them.”

He nodded.

“No waffling, no lies. I want to get to know you. You can have your memories. I get to have feelings and you don’t get to tell me what they are. I’ll work through them in my own, alright? And if that means I need space for a few minutes, you have to trust me enough to not think it means I’m rejecting you.”

He nodded his head. “You might.”

“I might not,” she remarked and saw his mouth turn up a bit at the corners. “Is that a smile?” she teased.

His eyes widened in surprise. Before she could ask why he shook his head. “You seem like you have some sort of psychic powers to me…”

“I’m not clairvoyant.” Rose reiterated. “I’m normal.”

“Good. Seeing the future is a curse. I can’t imagine how she suffered. No human is meant to endure that...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have half another part written... comments welcome. Thanks for reading! I would write all night if my wrists could handle it.


	16. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams and conversations

Rose thought she must be dreaming. Up for seventy-two hours straight, she had tumbled into bed fully dressed. Her stomach rumbled. Her skin was slick with old sweat and her hair was matted to her skull. She smelled. It was horrible but if she tried to shower before she slept she’d crack her skull open when she passed out in the shower. The bed was insubstantial under tired and bruised muscles. When her eyes closed they opened on a scene.  
The Doctor was in a large laboratory. The floors were cold cement. The walls were glowing with alien tech. Instead of his brown suit, he was dressed in blue. Blue...something about his home planet… and mourning… Her Doctor was in mourning. He was also reciting an incredibly familiar story.

“That’s how we met,” the Doctor finished with a flourish.

Rose smiled walking into the room. The Doctor was facing a large glass tube. Inside it was a humanoid form, floating peacefully in what was probably a nutrient bath. It glowed faintly cyan in the artificial light. The figure in the blue glowing nutrient fluid wasn’t awake. Rose turned to face the Doctor. He looked older, haggard. Rose stepped closer. He had a little bit of stubble on his handsome face. She reached out to touch. He didn’t, he couldn’t see her.

“I know you can’t hear me. Rassilon, you must be sick of me rambling on and on like a mad man.” The Doctor scrubbed at his tired face. “Remember? Remember that first day when I revamped the entire system mainframe and the second day too when I had to use this universe’s version of CRISPR to snip out some DNA sequences that were automatically added by the Sontaran tech? I think I told you the entire story of the Time War. Well, the cliff notes version. There was no way I was going to tell you how heroic my brother was. Anyhow, I doubt you wanted that probic vent, eh? Helluva a way to end up face down in the mashed potatoes.”

The lab was quiet. The Doctor’s voice was wistful. Rose felt it too. The room was melancholy but it had the potential for something very much like happiness. She paced. She could see that the machines were dormant now. The figure sat in the center of the tube glowing like a beacon of hope. “Love potatoes…” the Doctor continued having segued with his usual finesse, “Vinegar drenched chips for you, Rose! Remember when I showed you the end of your planet? You witnessed Earth's death and decided to take me to get chips… Yeah, ‘course you won’t know.”

He drifted over to the housing for the matrix. Rose followed him as he tapped it with his sonic. “Do you know that I have tried three hundred and forty-two methods for safeguarding this little personality here? Nothing works! Not. A. Thing. I'm starting to think that you Rose Tyler, don’t value the memories of our relationship as much as I do.”

Rose gasped! Stepping up to the tube, she slapped her hand against it. The face inside resolved itself into her own. Panicked, she turned back to the Doctor who continued, “Of course, your counterpart didn’t appreciate me at all. I thought you would be at least a little more delicate when it came to my feelings.”

“What?” Rose mouthed. No sound escaped her. The horror of seeing herself in the tube set her hands to shaking. She turned to face him. “Get me out of there!” she shouted silently. “Why am I in there? Doctor, help me!” She screamed nothing. No voice.

Blithely, he asked, “Did you even try to make a backup copy for me?”   
He walked over and straddled the chair he left in the center of the room to observe her serenely floating. “Hm? Ever think, [words were obliterated by a high pitched whine. Rose slapped her hands over her ears.] What then?”

Rose’s eyes fluttered. She was in the tube. She opened her eyes to stare at him, the weightlessness making her kick her legs in a panic.

The Doctor swore, scrubbing at his face. “Why would you leave me?”

“I would never,” Rose tried to shout around the oxygen mask fastened to her face. Angry bubbles exploded out of her nose cannula. She kicked at the glass trying to make him see her. Why couldn’t he see her? 

Rose woke up screaming, “I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU.”

Funnily enough, she swore she could taste soup.

The day passed. The Doctor had not mentioned food or breakfast or the other Rose. He had been thoughtful. Rose was showered, dressed, and bored. A package arrived around two. Inside it was a dossier for information Rose Tyler would know. It was from Clive. The Doctor’s eyes lit up with curiosity but he didn’t take it or even glance over her shoulder. He hunkered down on his corner of the world and went back to work on his box of stuff. 

Rose opened the manilla folder. Clive’s handwriting was tight, neat words, in a rich red pen. The note on top said, 

Rose,

I once bet a man I could learn Welsh in a weekend. I did not win that bet. Give this a once over. Let it sink in. Don’t think you’ll remember it all. Don’t even try to remember it all. Broad strokes. No one ever remembers everything about everything. You can’t learn Welsh in a weekend.

Clive.

Rose snorted. The Doctor glanced up, brows arched in interest. He didn't ask and she didn’t answer, just flipped to the next page. It was a list of skills required to pass the Torchwood entrance exam underneath it was a copy of the questionnaire to complete. Clive had noted that he failed it twice before cheating by writing crib notes on his calves and then pretending his legs were quite itchy. Another snort escaped her once again drawing the Doctor’s attention. 

“Clive left notes,” Rose answered his unasked question.

“Funny notes,” the Doctor remarked, turning a piece of tech over in his hands.

“Clever observations,” Rose replied. “What are you working on?”

“Erm, this was a sort of alien death ray,” he held the irregular ball out to her, encouraging her to touch it. “I’m adapting it into a power source. Pete found it on a mission. He thinks if we can figure out how to make it less kill-y and more useful, it might solve the issue of running some of our other ill-gotten tech on long missions. What’s the use in having an antigrav sled if it loses charge after five hours, that sort of thing. ‘Course, I was thinking of using it to power a city block with no waste. It might be a fusion generator in there…”

Rose turned it over in her hands. The metal felt cool to the touch. The glow shifted from a benign blue to a mauve. He snatched it out of her hands. “Whoops!” The sonic hit it and the colors shifted to yellow before settling into a safer looking green. “Almost blew us up there.”

“Should you have that here if it’s that dangerous?” Rose asked, searching for a pen on the table.

“You’d rather I left it at UNIT where some hamfisted intern might use it as a paperweight? Because that’s where I found a Rutan grenade once…” Sniffing, the Doctor went back to sonicking it. A panel fell open to reveal a nest of wormy glowing filaments. “Ooo, biofuel. Elgieen worms…” He hopped up. “I hope we have a beer in here somewhere.

“Beer?” Rose filled her name in on the test.

“Hm? Oh yes, the yeasty brew is perfect for these little guys.” The Doctor rummaged around in the kitchen.

Rose glanced down at the address box. “What planet are you from?” she asked as she grabbed a bit of loose mail to get her address. 

He reappeared with a large bowl and a bottle of beer. He popped the beer open and poured the foamy stuff into the bowl. Then he submerged the entire irregular ball into the beer. A plume of pink smoke escaped. “Eurgh, that’s nice. I feed you dinner and you excrete into my face you monstrous wee beasties! See if I offer you a nicer containment unit? Or a lovely little substrate to breed in? Nope. You lost your shot at a cushy future, my friends!” He stomped out of the room and she heard the sink going.

Rose flipped the info sheet to the second page where there was a diagram of a gun. Clive had written, “this is harder than it looks.” She would have to be able to assemble and disassemble the weapon. Rose lifted the sheet. It had a clip and a power pack. The rest was Greek to her. The Doctor returned grumbling. He plucked the diagram out of her hands. He peered at it through his glasses before dropping it and shoving a hand into his pocket and rummaging around. The gun in question appeared. He held it up. In three swift moves, he had disassembled it and placed it onto the table for her. “Gallifrey.”

“What?” Rose asked, poking at the gun bits to match them to the diagram.

“Home planet…?” The Doctor picked the gun up, assembled it. Arched his brows at her and took it apart just as fast. His hands were almost a blur. “This is child’s play. Here, hands.” He put her hands on the parts of the gun. Moving her hands gently into the positions on the diagram, he helped her assemble the weapon. He then helped her disassemble it again. Hopping up, he grabbed the bowl of worms and wandered out of the room to call Pete.

“Child’s play,” Rose said, picking up the gun pieces. Ten minutes later, she had not made any headway. Huffing out a breath, sweating, and frustrated, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her hands moved. “Left. Right. Up and…” She heard the same click she had heard when the Doctor did it. She opened her eyes to an assembled weapon. “I did it!” 

“See? Child’s play the Doctor said, covering the receiver so Pete couldn’t hear him. “Yes, well, it has the potential to be a clean source of power. Oh, probably. R&D?” He made an annoyed sound. “Yes. No, tomorrow. Yeah, I’ll ask her.” He covered the receiver again, “Pete wants to come by and brief you. We have weeks. You don’t have to do anything. Up to you.”

“Yeah, s’fine, I like Pete.”

The Doctor beamed and repeated that word for word to her father. “Yes. Yeah, of course. No. Get someone else to do it. I’m busy.” He hung up and tossed his mobile away. He watched Rose try to take the gun apart again. She closed her eyes. The gun came apart. “Muscle memory? How’s that possible with brand new muscles?” Reaching out, he slid his fingers down her left wrist. With a glance up for permission, he manipulated her fingers and rotated her wrist. He made some interesting and sciencey noises. “Reflexes are normal, skin is new, and I know those bones are brand new so why…”

Rose gritted her teeth against the featherlight touches. Her sensitive skin enjoyed the cool tracing as the pads of his fingers looped up and around. He massaged her wrist and slid his hands down her fingers. Finally, he just put his hand up. Rose curled her fingers around his. “Mmm,” he hummed merrily, “this feels right to me… like your hand belongs right here.”

Heat flooded her face. “So what were your people called?”

“Gallifreyans,” he responded. The hand not holding hers was tracing the wrist again. “Time Lord was a designation only the houses obtained… Ask a harder question.” 

The hairs on the back of Rose’s hand were standing up. His hand slid up to her elbow then biceps, examining the muscles with single-minded concentration. Rose’s mouth had gone dry. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“Hm? Testing for memories...in the muscles,” he murmured as his hand reached her shoulder. “I can…” he let go of her shoulder. “I, sorry.” He shook his head as if waking up a bit. He let go of her hand and fussed with his hair. “If I do this,” he gently lifted his hand and Rose’s hand came down to knock his away. “And this,” he moved slowly into a strike position, not striking, just posing but Rose had already reacted by blocking. “Ah, that’s...useful.”

Rose bit her lip.

“Oh, or,” he tapped her ever so lightly on her arms just past the elbows. Rose’s arms wrapped around his neck. He pulled her in tight. “Yesss.”

“Did you do all that to get a hug?” Rose asked, tightening her grip.

“Fringe benefit. Give in to your instincts in a fight, alright? Promise me.” The Doctor said into her shoulder.

“Yeah, sure, okay. Am I getting into fights?”

“I hope not.” He tightened his grip. 

“What did you do?” Rose asked. The Doctor drew back to watch her face, brows up in confusion. “To upset everyone at UNIT? What was Clive talking about?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This is a weird story and I'm glad you're enjoying it.


	17. Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes our heroes need minders.

Rose was on the shooting range, testing one of the new stunners. Mickey was nearby still using the Torchwood standard P90s. He also had another energy weapon that had been half-assed. Micks wasn’t sure about it. He had it leaned against the low wall where it glowed a sickly green. He had decimated the targets with his P90 and was now reloading. Rose pulled the trigger and her stunner set the target on fire.

“Wow babe, that’s definitely lethal,” Mickey exclaimed, whistling in appreciation. 

Rose threw it down. “S’not supposed to be lethal. It’s the new stunner.”

Laughing, Mickey retrieved the gun. “It was on the lowest setting too! Oh my God! We’ll be roastin’ ‘em instead of negotiating treaties. You think there are any aliens who taste like chicken?”

“We taste like pork, so I suppose,” Rose said, pulling her hair out of the elastic. 

Mickey made a face and aimed the weapon at his own target. The kickback was enough to force him to take a step back to stabilize. She saw him wince as it hit his shoulder. “Think you’ve got the wrong gun, Rose. There’s no way this thing was created to be nonlethal. It’s better than my new Cyber cracking gun. That thing has no kick whatsoever and burns out after three shots.”

“Shit, here comes Sean,” Rose hissed, taking back the lethal stunner. “Maybe I’ll take a look at your stunner. I’ve been learning about the energy guns and the sources from that class Jake’s new research scientist friend is teaching. What’s his name?”

“Ianto Jones,” Mickey supplied. “They’re sort of dating on the sly.”

Rose’s eyes lit up. “Why am I the last to know?”

“You needed a break after seeing Him… It started then. When you came back they were busy hiding it from HR and you’re the boss’ daughter so…” Mickey said apologetically. “Hush up. Sean hates love.”

“Miss Tyler and Mr. Smith, just the two agents I was hunting for,” Sean said holding up his clipboard. “Ah, good, you’re testing the new stunners!”  
Rose made a face at Mickey. Mickey smirked before blanking out his expression. Since being hired, Sean Martin had been a pain in the ass. He was the worst kind of bureaucrat. Nothing Rose did was good enough for him and Rose couldn’t be arsed to care. He was an idiot. He was the reason the Silurian delegation in Antarctica ended up killing three members of the team and the rest of the team had viciously exterminated the colony. The Doctor would have hated Sean. Rose did it for him. 

“This is no good,” Rose said, holding up the gun. “It kicks like a mule and sets targets on fire.”

“This one burns out after three shots,” Mickey said, holding up. “Rose and I are going to head down to R&D and help out the boys and girls by filling out questionnaires. Does it kill? Yes. Check.”

Rose snorted. 

Sean wasn’t upset. He was smug. “Oh no, it sets things on fire? Well, that sounds useful.”

Rose resisted the urge to growl. “We have plenty of killing guns. We need stun guns. Nonlethal. We want to avoid another incident like Cancun or Antarctica, or Vancouver or Nepal or…”

“Miss Tyler, those missions netted us valuable intel and technology. They were successes!” Sean said beaming. “Dr. Costello found several chemical components produced in the giant lizard’s stomachs that could be used to create drugs to correct certain issues in older men.”

“They were Silurians, not lizards,” Rose said in her deadliest tone, “and I’m sorry that men can’t get it up, but they were people. Torchwood killed sentient beings because of these.” She held up the gun. Rose chucked it at him. He caught it, dropping his clipboard. “We need to stop killing and cutting up everyone we meet. We’re going to get a bad reputation. And believe me, there are things out there among the stars that can reduce us to atoms for bad manners.”

“Well,” Sean drawled, “that’s why we’ve built the ship killer. It can blow anything out of the sky. So maybe it’s the aliens who need to watch their manners.”  
Rose heard Mickey calling her name but it was too late. She’d shoved Sean over. The gun flipped and she caught it. Powering it up she aimed it at his chest. Sean stared up at her with wide eyes. “My mum says it’s better to be kind. What do you think about that? Do you want me to be kind?”

Mickey lowered the weapon. He was shouting something. Rose couldn’t hear him over the pounding in her ears. She was the defender of the earth but that didn’t make her okay with the way this idiot wanted to defend it. She let Mickey take the gun out of her hands and stepped back away from Sean.

“Your father will be hearing about this!” Sean shouted, scrambling to grab his clipboard and scurrying away.

“Nice work, Rose.” Mickey handed the gun back to her. “Made an enemy there.”

Rose pulled the power pack out. She disassembled the gun into three pieces and dropped them to the ground. “Good.”

“Where are you going?” Mickey asked jogging to keep up.

“Research and Development… Do you have any viruses handy?” Rose asked, knowing he did. Mickey was great with computers. 

He tilted his head considering. “Yeah, I got a copy of the one the Doctor made. Think I can adapt it to delete whatever you want. Pete’s not going to be thrilled.”

“Tough. Some of Suzie’s research has got to go.”

The Doctor paced the hardwood floor of their flat. Rose didn’t expect him to answer her question. He didn’t lie to her. No. He didn’t lie but he did sometimes flip to a different subject to avoid answering. She could always tell. It was like a ripple in the air that only she could feel. Right now the air was waiting to ripple. 

“You told me to ask a hard question.” Rose prompted.

“Yes, I did,” he said pausing to look at her with consternation, “I’m going to answer.” 

That was the truth. Rose offered him a smile. He paced a bit more. In a few hours, he’d start wearing a groove into the wood. He paused considering before blurting out, “Mind, I’d just found out about you. Pete put me to work at Torchwood/UNIT so I could fix you.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Rose pulled her legs up underneath her, leaning against the arm of the couch. Her heart pounded.

He dropped to his knees by the arm of the couch. He dropped his arms onto the couch, resting his head on his forearms. Bright dark brown eyes bore into her insides making her feel a bit gooey. “Rose Tyler, please believe me, when I say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect.”

Rose bit her lip. That was also true. It wasn’t the whole truth though. Rose poked his elbow. “What was wrong with me?”

The Doctor glanced up at the ceiling, saying, “The machine they devised to clone you had some inherent issues. It was three or four, no five different pieces of alien tech slapped together in a rush. None of those technologies were ever meant to be in the same room let alone working together to clone someone. Krillitane don’t clone themselves. They snip and edit their DNA by direct absorption of the creature with the traits desired. Yet, Tosh and Owen had it lashed in there to control the creation of organs and systems! The Silurian tech was from a toaster, I think. I haven’t quite worked that bit out. There was this strange glowing square I’d never seen before powering it. I mean, why not use a plug? Why use...never mind.” he shook his head in admiration mixed with confusion and scientific curiosity. If Rose wasn’t careful, he’d be distracted and wandering off to play with the worms in beer.

“So, it wasn’t working right?”

“No, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t working. It was! Miraculous that it could do anything at all. There were real moments of mad genius in that monstrosity.”

“Now you sound impressed,” she said with annoyance.

“I am, I was… I still am. You’re here!” He booped her nose. Rose rolled her eyes at him but his enthusiasm was hard to resist. “Yes, but it wasn’t without its problems. The memory matrix issues I’ve mentioned. But they hadn’t accounted for the purpose of some of the original equipment. You were growing too fast. Your bones and your brain weren’t being given the time necessary to grow for a normal human being. You were going to be a fast grown clone. Not to mention the way the Sontaron setup didn’t care at all if you were born with nerves misfiring and then there was probic vent and oh, a whole host of nightmares!” He put his head down, letting out a frustrated breath.

Panic sent a jolt of adrenaline through her body. Stiffening, she clutched at his biceps. “Oh God, so, wait. Am I going to die early? How long have I got?”  
His head popped up. “Rose Tyler, I already told you. You are perfect. From your tiniest pinkie toes to the top of your lovely head of blonde hair. You’ll live to at least two hundred…”

“What? Humans don’t live to two hundred!” Rose exclaimed.

He tilted his head to the side like a big shaggy dog. Rose would have laughed if she hadn’t been so startled. Her heart was threatening to jump out of her chest and fly away.

“What? What? Why-? Nah, what?”

“Seriously, we don’t live that long. No one lives that long, no one human.”

“Oh! Oh, oops!” the Doctor’s face turned sheepish. “I thought… well, I did the math based on how long I was going to live. I measured my telomeres. Oh Rassilon! If she’d stayed I would have outlived her still. Huh. Well, you won’t die before me! Brilliant!” He frowned when Rose didn’t smile or cheer. “Erm, sorry?” he offered.

“You could have asked someone.”

“I didn’t think of that.” He made a face. Rose let out a breath, that was the truth as well. It had just never occurred to him to check with Jackie or Clive or anyone else.  
Rose blinked away tears. “How long was I going to live before you meddled?”

“Two years, maybe three,” he said. “Sontarons are supposed to die gloriously in battle fairly quickly.” The Doctor mussed his hair. “How ah, how long do humans live?”

“Some get to a hundred…”

“I've doubled your lifespan,” he hissed, slapping a hand over his mouth in shock. “Oooh, don’t tell your mother.” the Doctor drawled. “Are you very angry with me?

“I think I should be,” Rose said, feeling a bit disconnected from it. “I’m not sure how I feel. Not that there’s anything to be done now, I suppose. Well, I guess it’s alright since I started my life at twenty-four…I can’t comprehend that much time.” She didn’t know who she was or what she was going to do with a hundred years let alone two hundred years. 

“I can’t comprehend that little amount of time.” The Doctor was staring at her wistfully.

She reached out to touch his hair. Tilting his head to give her better access, he smiled. Rose pet him for a few moments. Every day there was so much to take in and digest. She was a clone. She was an adult with no childhood memories. She believed in aliens. The other her was a superhero. She was going to live practically forever. Her head was spinning. Her fingers in his hair were the only thing keeping her grounded. If she focused on how soft and thick it was, she wouldn’t float away. He grabbed her free hand up in his, loosely as ever. She tightened her grip.

“I met Clive a day after I’d made sure you would survive,” he continued, “and in the cup on Rose Tyler’s desk was my sonic screwdriver.”

“The silver tube thing you carry?”

He nodded. “I pocketed it.”

“Thief.” 

“Yes,” he agreed, pulling back away from her. “I took the sonic because it belonged with me. It’s a multi-tool that I constructed. It has dozens of useful settings. It can open doors, erase things, interface with my mind for readings… It’s like an extension of my brain. I’m lost without it.” He pulled the sonic out, flipped it, and handed it to Rose. It was cool to the touch. She glanced at him for permission and hit the button. It whirred. She examined it as he continued, “Pete met me and took me on a tour of the facilities. Instead of being impressed, I was terrified. They’d started on a project that would lead them down a dark path. I’d seen it before. I’d stopped it before. Think about evolving the human race in the wrong direction. There were these creatures called the Daleks. Evil. Nasty. Genocidal monsters in tin cans. The research was identical to what Davros started with… He was Kalid. He turned them into monsters.”

Rose frowned. “I hate that word… Dalek. It means death.” He skin crawled. “It means loneliness?” Cold settled into her heart. “Separation…”

“It does,” he agreed, his big eyes sad. He shook it off. “I’m a Time Lord. I can sense things that are meant to happen and things that are absolutely not meant to happen. I entered the lab and my time senses screeched. Not a little warning tingle but a full-fledged Time Lord Cloister Bell. They had been tinkering with DNA… They were… It was BAD. It was WRONG. And they’d had to have dismembered a few alien species to get the research. I saw the path unfurl and it led to Daleks. I had to stop it.”

“Did you tell Pete to stop it? Did you tell him that you knew that the research was bad? And was going to hurt people?”

“I was startled. Scared. Angry.” His ears turned red. Uncomfortable, he looked away. “I lost my temper.”

“And?”

“I erm, well, I ah, destroyed the project.” He scratched at the back of his neck, face red with shame.

“But you didn’t tell anyone why. You just destroyed it! Why? Pete would have listened to you.” 

“I didn't know that! Pete is a brilliant man but he can’t see TIME. If I didn’t do what I did someone may have saved the information and started over again somewhere else. In the other Universe the Cybermen started on Mondas. In Pete’s World, the were homegrown. Daleks began on Scarro but the people of Pete’s World just need to be that innovative…”

“They would have understood…”

“And if they disagreed?” The Doctor was breathing heavier, eyes flashing with an echo of his earlier rage.

“They might have known what they were doing.”

“I’m a TIME LORD. I KNEW BETTER,” he bellowed, whirling away to pace. “I took my sonic and I destroyed the body of files. I smashed the lab. I destroyed the samples. I tore that room down to the studs. The research would have destroyed them.” He came back, kneeling down again. “I had to destroy the problem. I was possessed by it. It had to go. Someone has to stop them sometimes.”

“Who stops you?” She demanded. 

“Well, preferably, I get some therapy going,” he said softly. “Until then maybe you could help me do it?”

“Hm, almighty Time Lord at my mercy. Under my control…” Rose said, drawing the words out like taffy. 

He knelt down before her again. “Yours to command.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, maybe it's a lot of pressure to put on Rose but the Doctor only listens to Tylers.


	18. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Original Rose starts a Journal. The New Rose gets a return to work date. Ian is fancy.

Clive noticed the new blue journal immediately. He had a knack for observation. Rose had told him in another life he had studied a mysterious alien called the Doctor or as he thought of him: Rose’s chaotic good alien boyfriend. Rose hadn’t had it yesterday while she was helping him fill out his dossier for becoming a citizen of this Parallel World. It was an ongoing process. He had a work badge. His flat was sorted months ago. The Clive from this world had been cyberized-ouch-so it was only a matter of him coming forward and saying, ‘Nope, I’m alive.’ Except for the mountains of dead trees he had to fill out. Thankfully, they kept working on saving the multiverse in between his triplicate form filing… Rose never filled out her forms, or her reports and now she had a new blue journal. 

“Are you going to write in that?” he asked, as she sat on her desk instead of behind it.

“Hm? I am, I have, I will again,” Rose told him, flipping through. “I’ve decided to keep personal notes on what we see. I’m searching for patterns. And writing down things I remember about the Doctor. I can’t forget anything in case it’s important.” 

“Rose Tyler, that’s what all the reports you’ve been ignoring are for,” he teased as he added another elaborate story about his childhood to the dossier. “Why not help me fictionalize my life in new and disturbing ways?”

A laugh escaped her. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. She furtively scribbled something else into the journal. Clive arched his neck catching a few sketches of a person in a tube and a man in a suit; the Doctor, no doubt. Rose caught him and arched a brow.

“Is this about the dreams?” he asked.

“They are in here.” Rose closed the journal and stuffed it into an inner pocket. “Clive, do you think we’re going to find the Doctor?”

“Yes.” 

Clive dropped his pen. Done with his file, for now, he focused on his friend. She was twitchy too. 

“Rose Tyler, we are going to save the multiverse with or without the Doctor. We’re a brilliant team. And you’ve obviously had another disturbing dream. Keeping track of them is a good idea. It’ll help you process… Or in the case of Steven King, write some great movies with bad endings.” Rose sniffed, amused by him. “Is it helping you process?”

Rose glanced up. “I think it’s helping me put the pieces together. My eyes are so itchy.” She rubbed at them.

“Stop it, that just makes it…” Clive paused as Rose let go of her eyes. “Oh my God,” he whispered. Rose’s eyes were always bright swirling with brown and green. Now they were glowing gold coins. “Rose?”

“We’re going to meet Donna tomorrow,” she said, her voice strange and doubled.

Clive stood up, knocking his chair over. “Rose.”

She blinked. The glow died out. “Hm?”  
“I’ve got something for you to write in your journal, love.”

Rose went to sleep alone and woke up to the Doctor snoring beside her. He had shucked half of his clothes leaving him in a half unbuttoned purple Oxford, a white band tee and boxers. The blankets were swirled around him as if they’d been in the washing machine together. Rose was rolled in the flat sheet like a burrito. His hair was a riot of spikes. Rose had a great view since he had migrated to half on her pillow. Rose rolled over to watch him. He had made himself her responsibility. Well, he had offered to let her boss him around a bit. Rose smiled. She definitely going to boss him around...gently. 

The itchy feeling she had gone to sleep with was gone now that he was up close and breathing minty breath into her right eye. She reached out to brush some of his hair off his face. The stuff was soft and staticky. She tamed it with her fingers and it resisted, twisting into more electrified tufts. Amused, she went with it and twisted the tufts around her fingers, letting the slippery stuff escape leaving the staticky feeling behind. Snoring softly, he remained pleasantly unaware of her until she ran a hand down the right side of his face. A warm eye opened. 

“Having fun?”

“Mm hm, your hair is weird.”

“Thanks?” 

“Feels alive.” Rose let go of his cheeks to pet the hair down. 

“Tickles!” He leaned in to give her better access. “The textures jus’ a bit different. Your hair is silkier, softer, less likely to conduct energy.” The Doctor’s right hand came up to wrap some of her blonde hair around his fingers. “Can’t sleep?”

“Sinking under the crushing weight of my new found responsibilities,” she teased as tingles radiated out from her scalp from the gentle pressure of his hands in her hair. 

Scoffing, he ran his hand through her hair a few more times. “Until we have a Tardis, your responsibilities are mostly reminding me about human manners. I’m rude. Impulsive.”

“Quick to anger,” Rose tacked on.

“Mercurial,” he corrected, tweaking a lock.

“That’s a fancy word for moody.” 

He made a face. His brows knit together. “I’m not pressuring you, am I?”

Rose was quick to shake her head no. “I need you to mind me. S’only fair if I mind you in return.”

His bright grin lit her up from the inside. Eagerly, he tugged her to him and rearranged her so they were cuddled up. Rose didn’t protest. He was warm but his skin was never as hot as hers. She was also completely free of the itchy, uneasy feelings that crept into her when he was more than a room away from her. Rose sighed, slowly becoming boneless as she slipped back into dreamland.

Seconds? Minutes? Later she was gently shaken awake. “Pete’s on his way over. Best get dressed.”

Groaning, he shoved his hands away. A quick grab for the divet netted nothing. The Doctor was dragging it free of the bed. She blinked up at him balefully. A smirk flirted with the edges of his mouth. Rose growled in response.

“Not a morning person?” 

The pillow hit him in the face. A gale of laughter escaped him. Rose sat up. He was dressed in trousers, tee and oxford with the oxford sleeves rolled up. Streaks of black grease decorated his forearms and there was a smudge on his right cheek. There was a matching smudge on the pillow that he tossed back to her. “Shower.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “you should. I’ll make us some tea and a light breakfast. See if we can tempt Pete into some toast and jam. I’ve been up for a few hours. The Tardis and Ian are going to need a new tank.”

“Really?” Rose slipped out of the bed, aware as the cold air swirled around her legs, that she had fallen asleep in one of his t-shirts. She had stolen it from the closet because she only had the one set of pajamas and they were ripe. “Show me?”

“She gets out of bed for the Tardis, but not for her poor father nor her…” the Doctor trailed off, puzzled. “What am I? Friend? Friend. Companion?”

“Whichever gets you to make me eggs,” she replied before disappearing into the en suite.

She thought she might have heard him whisper, “Boyfriend then.” Probably wishful thinking on her part. Although… they did seem to be oddly connected. The itchiness started the farther away he got. By the time she imagined he reached the kitchen, it was back to a light dusty feeling under her skin. Forcing the feeling away, she turned the water up to broiling. The heat felt so so good, sluicing off last night’s sweat. She scrubbed herself from head to toe before attacking her hair with his fruity shampoo. After conditioning, she stepped out to hear him singing in the other room. 

Ian appeared in his bubble, swimming serenely through the air. Rose wrapped her hair in a towel and dressed. She slipped on a sundress in pale blue over her underthings. Ian zoomed into her closet, exploring. In the dark closet, his exo-bubble glowed faintly pink. Rose whistled for him. The fish zipped over to her. He was bigger. His fins were even fancier now. The clockwork swirls were intricate and interspersed with dots and half circles. His eyes seemed to track her better. His golden-orange body was sparklier too. “You’re looking dapper this morning, Ian.”  
Ian drifted around her lazily in a circle before swimming out of the room. Rose followed him in bare feet. She padded down the hall and into the living room. The Doctor had set out breakfast on the coffee table. The zebra cakes were there. The fruit took center stage next to bowls of a violently orange porridge. Mugs were out but only hers had tea in it. 

“Ian’s fancier now,” Rose told him while dropping two cubes of sugar into her tea and reaching for the milk.

“Is he?” The Doctor spun around to regard the fish. He called to him in the same musical language he used to talk to the Tardis. Ian swam to him and did a slow spin. “He is!” Delighted the   
Doctor asked the fish a few more questions or made commands. The fish splayed his fins. “Well, that is…incredibly fancy. Evolving are we, Ian?”

Ian drifted away from him, darting to the window to look down at the world before winking out. The Doctor plopped down next to her on the couch. He snatched one of the cakes and popped it into his mouth. “She’s upgrading him. Should have expected that I suppose.” he said around a mouthful of cake. “She’s an interdimensional creature. Makes sense she’d want her companion to be as special as she is.”

“She’s making him fancier for science?” Rose sipped her tea, mulling that one over. “What about his fins? He’s all covered in tattoos now.”

“They’re words,” the Doctor said, popping the second cake into his mouth and washing it down with some banana slices, or pushing it down? “His fins have his designation and rank on them in my language, in Gallifreyan.” The Doctor offered her half of the third cake.

“Designation and rank? He’s a goldfish,” Rose said, taking the proffered cake. One bite and she regretted it. The cake tasted like royal icing and fake bananas.

The Doctor bobbed his head and waved one hand expansively, saying, “Ian, Tardis Exploratory Pilot, Designation Carp, Gift from the Bad Wolf.”

“Bad Wolf?” Rose felt as if someone walked over her grave. “I gave the Tardis that fish.”

“Yeah, yep, you did.” He reached for a slice of toast. The doorbell went off in its booming warning ring. “Oooh,” he said around the toast. “Pete’s here.”

“Yeah but I’m not the Bad Wolf.”

The Doctor didn’t answer. He had a slice of toast clutched between his teeth. He opened the door and shook Pete’s hand, inviting the older Tyler in while still holding the toast in his mouth. Pete did not seem surprised. 

“Hiya Rose,” Pete greeted her with a nervous smile. 

She waved him into the armchair. He had a briefcase with him. He dropped it to the floor and reached into his inner suit pocket. A dark blue envelope appeared. “This is from Tony. He said to remind you that you promised you wouldn’t forget his birthday again. But,” he held up his finger to forestall any comments, “Since you had forgotten him once already this year, he was going to be kind and put present suggestions in here for you. Don’t feel obligated. My son has everything he could ever need and is a demanding little monster to boot.”

The Doctor brought the kettle in, pouring tea for Pete and refilling Rose’s mug before tending to his own cup. “Tony’s a bright young human. He’s the best of two universes! His head for science and natural curiosity just makes him a bit much for the normal people.” He plopped down next to her scratching at his face. “I’m getting him something educationally fun.”  
“Nothing that can explode, or melt anything in my home, please, and thank you.” Pete sipped his tea, smirking at the Doctor who rolled his eyes. “Jackie sends her best. She was hoping the two of you might manage Sunday Tea which is tomorrow night.”

The Doctor left it up to Rose. “Yeah, alright.”

Both men relaxed. Jackie Tyler’s opinion was important to these two men. Rose took a breath. She needed to figure out a way to make things less awkward with the woman who was her mother. Not now, tomorrow, now was for the briefcase.

“Good. Perfect. Listen, love, I’ve brought you the files you’ll need to be up to date on. These are the cases you, the other you, were working on congruent to the Dimension Cannon. And don’t be afraid to tell people you don’t remember the details or that you don’t give a flying f--fig about the details. That would be in line with my daughter’s behavior. Also, don’t be afraid to come to me or refer people to me if they think you’re different or acting strange. I’m your dad, if only on paper at the moment. I will take care of that for you.” Pete finished his little speech and noticed the feast. Surprisingly, he grabbed for the lurid porridge. “Ooh, I love glasooon,” he gushed. “May I?”

“Oh, Pete! You learned to pronounce it. The G’xixs Alliance will be thrilled on their next mating pass by in erm, four years' time? Made it for you and Rose.” He turned to face her. “It’s got a good balance of micro and macronutrients.”

Pete was eating it with relish. “Tastes like tapioca and mandarin oranges with a hint of something, cilantro?”

The Doctor extolled the complex flavor palates of the G’xixs Alliance while they ate. Pete was a well-muscled man in his forties. His eyes were bright blue and clear. Rose was sure he was a great boss who cultivated respect. She imagined herself working for him and it felt right. He being her father felt right as well. It didn’t hurt that he managed to remember to differentiate her from her previous self. 

“I’ve got a few weeks before I have to know all of this?” Rose held up the files. “This isn’t light reading.”  
Pete laughed. “Ah, I was hoping you might deign to come back after Tony’s party next weekend. I know it’s a week early but I need someone on staff like you.”

“Empty-headed and clueless?” 

The Doctor scoffed.

“No sweetheart, I need someone, well, someones including the Doctor, who are completely loyal to me.” Pete placed the empty bowl on the table. “I need that recipe, Doctor.”

“I’ll write it down,” the Doctor grabbed for a pen. 

Pete stopped him. “Email it to me. You always forget you’re writing in English and switch to those circles and dots halfway through.”

The Doctor made a face. “Oops!”

“How do you know I’m loyal to you?” Rose asked and the Doctor winced.

Pete stood up and dropped a familial kiss to the top of her head. “You’re a Tyler. You’ll do the right thing. And I’m on the right side.” He gave her a wink. “Right, RSVP to that. Call your mother, erm, Jackie about okay-ing that present list. Tony keeps putting live dinosaurs on everything hoping someone will forget that they’re dangerous.”

“There are many species of dinosaur that are harmless herbivores and would make excellent companions for a little boy--”

Rose snickered at the Doctor. Pete shook his head, more exasperated than upset or annoyed. The Doctor rolled his eyes and went back to eating bites of fruit.

“I’ll see myself out. We can discuss any questions you have on those files at dinner. Or not. We go at your pace, Rose. Just think about helping your old man out. Sean has the brass by the balls somehow. His policies are...stupid. I’ll see myself out.”

“See ya,” Rose called out as Pete waved and closed the door behind him.

“I am loyal to Pete,” the Doctor volunteered. “You don’t have to be. You can make your own decisions but that man thinks things through. I can go back to work with him while you take your last week to get your bearings. This is a lot and you can’t speed read like certain biologically superior beings.” 

Rose took a spoonful of the orange glop and flung it at him. He opened his mouth and caught most of it, humming in pleasure. Sighing, she took a spoonful. “Oh my God, this tastes like soap!”

“Ah, looks like someone is one of the 20% of the population with a variation in the OR6A2 gene. Shame. You’re going to have a hard time with some salsas I’m afraid.” The Doctor took her bowl of glop and ate it. “Mm gotta love those GPCRs.”

“I gotta get out of here.”

“Is it the GPCR smell?” 

“No.”

“Then---?”

“Listen, if I have to go play ‘make believe’ in two weeks, I need to figure out who I am first. I need clothes that are mine, not hers. I need to taste foods that are my favorites and no one else's and I want to get some fresh air. Problem with that?”

“No sir.” The Doctor sketched a salute.

Rose glared.

“I’ll ah, clean up, and go get the car.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sweet little moment before some things happen.

The dimension cannon project was heating up. Tosh had been placed on standby for Rose as her personal physician. That worked for Toshiko since she could keep better track of the samples and make sure the lab processed them correctly from now on. Too many of Rose Tyler’s samples had been marked contaminated or insufficient for testing to be anything less unnerving. 

Owen popped into her lab. “Agent Tyler wants a meeting with the pair of us for some research project. What do you think Daddy’s Hot Blonde needs from us peons?”

“Don’t be you,” Tosh replied, not in the mood for his innuendo today. “Rose is going to save the world and she considers us a part of her team. It’s an honor.”  
Owen graced her with a smile. “You’re certainly patriotic, Tosh. Ra Ra. You are right, Rose is alright compared to the rest of the higher ups. ‘Course she’d never grace me by accepting an invitation for a night out. I’d be a good time for her. Considering she hasn’t dated anyone since she’s been at Torchwood. You think she’s asexual? Or has secret lovers? A room full of batteries.” He lifted himself up onto one of her metal tables.

Tosh ignored it. He chased everyone in the building except Tosh. She sighed. Underneath all of the posturing, Owen Harper was a good doctor, a better research scientist and almost a decent guy. Shame he covered it in his shitty behavior most days. She was one of the only women on staff willing to vouch for him. “I haven’t dated anyone either.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “But you’re…”

“What? I’m what?” Tosh demanded.

“Brilliant,” he finished winking at her.

Tosh sighed. “And she’s?”

“Hot,” he said as if that explained it all.

“Who’s hot?” Rose Tyler asked, stepping into the room.

Her eyes were bright. The skin under her eyes was smudged with purple and she’d lost weight. She was clutching a blue diary and a file folder with ‘Project Phoenix’ emblazoned across the top. “What I want to talk about doesn’t leave this room.”

“Are we being sacked?” Tosh asked.

Rose smiled. “No. In fact, I’m trusting you with my future. And a really insane science project.”

“You had me at science,” Owen said.

“Tosh?”

“Yeah, of course… Science. I do...um, the science.” Ugh. She sounded like an idiot.

Rose beamed. “Well, good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

“You look good,” the Doctor said for the one hundredth time. Other than a rather violent reaction to a fuzzy blue sweater, the Doctor had loved everything she tried on. Rose sighed. “You do!”  
Rose was in a rather ugly gray jumper that was too big and a pair of trousers that were too short. She arched a brow. “I know you’re trying to let me decide on my own. You’re allowed to help.”

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I’m trying not to influence you. I’m letting you be you.”

Rose huffed in frustration. It was what she wanted but not what she wanted. She didn’t know the fashion trends. She didn’t know the colors. She didn’t know if she cared. Her head was empty of all the information that would have helped her have an informed fashion sense. The canvas was too wide open. It was too white. A chill rushed through her. She didn’t like bright sterile whites, she had figured that out all on her own and she now knew the Doctor hated pastel blue or fuzzy sweaters. They’d been here an hour. The Doctor had a bag full of new T-shirts, a pair of chucks, and a cornflower blue oxford. “I don’t know who I am! Tell me what colors are in this season.”

“Rose,” he reached out to touch the sweater she was wearing. “I’ve done this. You’re overthinking it. You need clothes from top to bottom. When I arrived I only had the clothes on my back. C’mon… come on. We need to take a break and get lunch.” He reached out a hand for her. Rose slipped her hand into his and he dragged her out of the shop.

Blinking in the sunshine, Rose allowed herself to be pulled into a bakeshop. The Doctor went to the counter, leaving her to find a spot in a booth at the back. Her stomach grumbled. Breakfast was hours ago. She hadn’t bought a thing. Deciding who you wanted to be was harder than she expected. Somehow she had thought it might be instinctual. Rose’s vocabulary was littered with words that had weird meanings based on another Rose’s life. Why hadn’t the fashion info stuck? She supposed if it had, she wouldn’t want new clothes. She would have been content with the old stuff. Maybe she was. Rose bit into her fingernail, chewing it in a contemplative way.

The Doctor dropped down in front of her with a tray of sweets. He handed her a cup of coffee. Rose wrinkled her nose. He placed another cup in front of her. “Let’s give the fashion a break. In my humble opinion, your brain is going to leak out of your ears at this rate. Put a pin in it and let’s have a taste test. When I,” he lowered his voice, “changed, my taste buds changed. Flavors I loved went out the window. This isn’t the same thing exactly. I know that but if you’ve no memory of what you like, it’s time to make a few memories. Start on the left, work your way down, one small bite each. Savor. We’ll make a list.” 

“Clever,” Rose said, feeling a hot rush of warmth. He smirked and pushed a dessert her way. Rose picked up the small square in yellow. She nibbled a corner. “Mm lemon square?”  
The Doctor nodded. He pushed the second one towards her. It was a brownie! Rose tried to eat more but the Doctor stopped her. “One bite each,” he counseled as he ate her brownie.  
He offered her the coffee and the cup. “Pour a bit of coffee in the cup. Add milk and sugar until you like it. Or decide you hate it. I’ve got tea as well. We already know you like it, tea is genetic for British persons...and Time Lords.”

“Is this a healthy lunch?” Rose asked as she tasted something her mind told her was a tart. It was good but not great. The Doctor put a question mark next to it in her notebook. She noticed he was putting smiley faces beside the ones she liked and frowny faces if she hated it. She tried sweetening the coffee but the bitter taste was too much for her. Even mostly cream and with a pound of sugar added, the dark liquid was disgusting. She shoved it away. A strange buzzy feeling kicked after the third attempt and she wasn’t sure she liked that either. 

“Now about the clothing,” the Doctor began eating bites she had rejected. He pulled a magazine from his pocket. “For some reason, mauve is big this year. Big no-no on most worlds but humans, eh? The woman at the counter said flares are in again. Not sure I believe that.” He scratched at his sideburns. “If it were up to me I’d wear the same thing every day...just about. Also, maybe we could start slow and buy you pajamas so you stop stealing my vests.”

He reached out to catch her hand in his. The small shop was emptying out. Rose was stuffed full of sugar. “I think I need veggies for dinner.”

“Hm? Yes, oh, yes, I should have started the taste test with healthy foods! But we already knew you liked tea and toast…” 

“That’s not health food!” Rose protested, pulling him to his feet as his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered. Rose let him tuck her up against him. His bag seemed to have disappeared into a pocket. He tensed. “What is it?” she mouthed.

“UNIT,” he mouthed back. “Yes, yeah of course. That’s what you pay me for, isn’t it? Yes, well no one seems to care about my time off requests. Yep. Jake...No, Jake’s team only. Right, no well, I’d rather not.” He glanced down at her, brows drawn down low in concern. “I don’t like it.” He hung up. Giving her a squeeze, he turned them away from the shops and back to the tube.

An uneasy feeling made the itching flare to life. Rose clung to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Eh, they have a translation problem. Some alien species that they can’t identify are demanding either 500 pounds of chocolate or forty-seven goats and twenty-eight vestal virgins. They need me to take care of it before the shooting starts.” The Doctor stepped up the pace forcing Rose to jog to keep up making Rose regret the coffee and the sweets. 

“That’s why you requested Jake’s team?” Rose asked, bile rising up.

He nodded. “Jake is loyal to me, and Pete. His team, you met them on the day you were born, remember, are the only ones who knew about Project Phoenix. They were trained to ask questions and investigate first before shooting. I need them there to support me. Rose, I need you to go home to support me.”

Rose stopped walking. The Doctor strode forward until her fingers tugged him back. He spun to face her dark eyes already off of her and onto the aliens he needed to safeguard from UNIT and vice versa. Rose was not about to be sent home. Not on her life. “I’ll go with you.”

“Rose, this isn’t a good time for togetherness. I’d feel better if you were at the flat while UNIT was armed and ready to shoot anything strange. Their being on high alert could catch you out. Besides, if you are there, they will look to you for guidance and you can’t exactly guide them yet.” He grabbed her biceps gently but firmly. “Rose, you would be in danger. I can’t have that. I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but you.”

Itchiness exploded behind her eyes, spreading down her face and throat until she felt like a flea-bitten dog. Rose gripped his forearms. “No. No, no, no, we shouldn’t be separated.”

“Rose, please,” he begged. “I can take care of myself. What I can’t do is split my focus before you’re better prepared. You haven’t even finished Clive’s packet let alone started on Pete’s. Go home.”

“I don’t think we should be apart… It feels wrong.” Rose protested feebly.

“It does, it always does,” he agreed. “The faster I go, the faster I can return.” He kissed her nose. “Please?”

Rose bit her lip, fighting against the roiling in her guts. He was right. She wasn’t going to be able to help yet. He was also wrong. They should be together. Rose bowed her head at war with the itchiness and her sense. Sense won out. “I’ll go home.”

“There’s GPS on your phone. Take the tube back to the stop and hit the Urban Mapper. Here.” He handed her a black credit card. “Tap it to anything you need.” The Doctor let go of her. He left her at the tube entrance, racing off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to pick up. Thanks for reading.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor is missing...

“Ah-ha, got you, you plum!” Clive hacked into Sean’s private files easily. Sean’s passwords were generic and predictable. All Clive had to do was stomach fourteen minutes of small talk to ascertain the name of his cat, the name of his wife, and his birthday. Rose had set off the alarms again today and Pete had to save her from Suzie’s clutches. Or, saved Suzie from Rose… The missions were heating up. Rose had found a universe with the Doctor in it. It had ended it badly and Rose had acquired a dying Tardis and a sonic screwdriver. Her depression was the only reason Sean had convinced Rose to go in for testing.

The files confirmed a few things for Clive. Rose’s glowing eyes were connected to that incident on not-Kansas. He’d had his suspicions about Sean and here was proof. It was a series of emails between Sean and Harriet Jones about the danger Rose Tyler posed as an ‘unknown entity.’ Her medical records showed anomalies in radiation levels as well as several alterations to her basic DNA. On top of that were attachments containing several of Rose’s mission reports where she chose to save the aliens over killing them and taking their tech. “This is a hatchet job.” 

Copying everything, he shunted the copies to an external hard drive he encrypted with a program that didn’t exist here. There was no way they’d catch him. They kept underestimating him. The door behind him was slammed open. Spinning, he felt his breath catch. “Rose Tyler! You scared the hell out of me!”

“I knew you’d be here. Come on, we need to go to my flat.” Rose’s eyes were wild and teary. “There are some things you’re going to have to do for me.”

“Rose what’s wrong?” Clive unclipped his external drive and pocketed it, following the girl. She stopped in their shared office to grab her journal out of the false bottom of his desk and two strange glowing cubes. She pocketed all of it and hurried him out. Clive let her. In the lobby they met Mickey Smith. “Hey.”

Mickey smirked, leading them to a black SVU. “Get in Clive.”

“Right.” They drove to Rose’s flat in silence. Clive was tense. Mickey was a good agent and a better friend to Rose. If he was in on whatever this was, it was going to get strange. “Am I going to like this?”

“No,” Mickey smirked.

The doorman waved them through. Rose lifted her hand and buzzed the camera with the doctor’s sonic screwdriver. They used the stairs instead of the lift and Clive was regretting his large dinner. By the top he was sweating and worried, and Rose’s eyes were sparkling a bit golden.

Inside the flat, Rose flicked through a few settings on the sonic and left it on the table. The air shimmered around them. “There, no one can hear us now.”

“Right, Rose, because anyone who hears this is gonna think we’re bonkers,” Mickey Smith said. “Tell him.”

“You’re going to copy my memory for me onto these memory matrixes.”

“Why?” Clive asked, sinking down onto her plush burgundy couch.  
“Don’t ask her that mate, you really don’t want to know.” Mickey stood up and headed to the fridge. “I hope you stocked up on beer.”

“Yeah, help yourself, you were always going to,” Rose said. “Remember this.” Rose held up her journal, walked across the room to the bookcases, stomped on a floorboard. It levered up. She dropped it into the space and slammed it shut. “Do not tell anyone about that until the right time.”

“Rose, what the hell, love?” 

Rose pulled out the memory matrixes and dropped them onto the table. She kicked off her shoes onto the mat and started pacing across the hardwood floors. “First copy my memories on these. Then I’ll tell you how, what, and when you need to lie.” 

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“NO. That’s part of it… I can’t tell you everything if it’s going to work.”

“Here you are,” Mickey dropped an open beer into Clive’s hand.

Mickey plopped down next to him. “Trust me, you don’t want to know the whole story.”

“I think I’m going to need something stronger than beer, mate.”

Rose handed him some electrodes, “Stop fussing and plug me into this thing.”

“Mum, he hasn’t come home.” Rose had dialed her mother when the Doctor had been gone for about five and a half hours. The feeling in her had grown unbearable. If she could have peeled her skin off to make the feeling stop, she would have.

Jackie had gasped when she called her mum. Maybe she shouldn’t have. Maybe she’d just done it because she was stressed but it hadn’t felt wrong to call the elder Tyler for help. It had felt exactly like what she should have done. “Alright, sweetheart, tell me what happened. Where did the Doctor go? Did he tell you?”

“UNIT called. They had some mission where they needed his help with the negotiations. He said they didn’t know if the aliens wanted chocolate or virgins…”

“Yeah, you’d think that wouldn’t happen more than once but last week my Pete, your father had the same issue with this overgrown rat species. They wanted fuel, not food… It all worked out in the end though…” Jackie rambled. “Right, let me ask your father if he knows anything.”

Rose’s insides squirmed as she waited. The heavy thinking feeling filled the room, leaking out of the room where Ian and the coral lived. Rose drifted closer to the Doctor’s alien coral as she listened to Jackie calling for Pete. She knew she wasn’t supposed to leave him alone. She knew! The first time he’s out of her sight and he vanishes. She had tried texting him. She had tried patiently waiting. But he knew how squirrely it made her feel and he hadn’t contacted her. Rose bit into her fingernail, worrying it.

“Rose?” Pete’s voice soothed her nerves a little. He was going to tell her it was alright. He was going to tell her that the Doctor was fine, negotiating a peace treaty and unable to text because his battery went flat. “Who called the Doctor in?”

Shit. “Um, UNIT. He was annoyed. He asked for Jake’s team and whoever was on the phone agreed. Pete, he’s been gone for hours,” Rose hated how needy she sounded.

“Right, listen love, I haven’t heard any chatter about alien activity tonight or a need to call in the Doctor. I’ll call Jake and see if his team was deployed. Can you tell me anything else?”

Rose bit the nail to the quick, the sharp bright taste of blood exploding into her mouth. “Mm, whoever it was told them that there was an issue negotiating because of the translating… They needed him. He suggested Jake’s team because he didn’t want the aliens to get shot. He put me on the tube and left me. That was almost six hours ago.”

“Try not to upset yourself,” Pete said, half distracted. She imagined he was on his computer logging into UNIT or maybe texting someone. “Negotiations can take anywhere from minutes to months. It’s unusual for the Doctor to be consulted without first contacting me but not unheard of. I’m sending Jackie over to keep you company. I’ll call around and get back to you ASAP, alright? Stay calm. The Doctor can handle himself. He’s great in a crisis.”

“Yeah, alright,” Rose said, a hot ball of nerves flooding her stomach. “Thanks Dad.”

Pete paused. “Yeah, ‘course, love. I’ll just… go find the Doctor for you.”

Rose tossed the phone away from her and walked into the spare bedroom. The coral was glowing a healthy orangey-pink. The feeling in the room was broody and worried. Rose reached out to the tank. Ian swam over to her fingers, his eyes bright and interested. “Are you alright, Ian?”

Ian’s eye blinked.

“I’m not,” Rose told him. “I'm worried.”

Ian’s fins dipped.

“Where is he?” 

The room’s mood darkened. Rose shuddered. “You’re part of him, part of his home. Can’t you tell me where he is?”

The coral didn’t do anything. The dark mood didn’t lift. Rose bit her lip. Ian hid under his friend. Rose turned her back on the coral. Back in the living room, she paced. Her skin itched! Rose groaned in annoyance. Hunting her phone out of the sofa cushions, she checked. “Zero messages!” Rose growled at er mobile. “Fat lot of good, you are!” 

She texted Clive. “Have you seen the Doctor?”

Jackie found her there twenty minutes later, staring at the screen, waiting for an answer. She barreled into the room and pulled Rose into a hug. A few days ago it would have felt invasive. Now she let the older woman fold her into a warm hug. “Why would he leave me here, Mum?”

“He wouldn’t. Don’t get hysterical. It’s not even been a day. The Doctor wanders off. He gets wrapped up in things. He’s easily distracted. You’ve gotten used to having one hundred percent of his attention the last few days. But I know him too, sweetheart and that man, for being a Time Lord, can be absolutely useless about time. Come and sit down. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

Rose let her go to make the tea. Sitting on the sofa, she let herself be lulled by Jackie’s soothing presence. “Yeah, maybe I am overreacting. We can’t spend every waking moment together. I know it. I just thought he’d call…”

“He will!” Jackie plunked some mugs down. “That man is crazy about you. Being away from you is just as traumatic for him as it is for you. S’always been a bit annoying how codependent the two of you’ve been. Back when he was all ears and leather, oh he was attractive then, you’ve been hip to hip. And that was before either of you wanted to admit you loved one another. I knew it. I saw it. But did anyone want to tell Jackie Tyler what was happening, no… And then he went and stole you away for a year! I nearly worried myself to death.” She walked over with the mugs and pushed one into Rose’s nerveless fingers. “And before you start in on me, I realize that was the other you. I’m just trying to tell you, that the two of you would leave anyone and everyone behind for one another. He’ll be back.”

“If he can come back,” Rose said glumly.

Jackie’s mobile rang. “Pete! Where is he? Where’s the Doctor, so I can wring his scrawny neck for forgetting to charge his mobile… What? Right…” Jackie placed the phone onto the coffee table and hit speakerphone. 

“Jake was never called in.” Pete sounded grim.

“What?” Jackie squawked. “That doesn’t make any sense. Who would they have called in if not for Jake? The Doctor doesn’t work with any of the other teams. He never would. He thinks they’re all a bunch of trigger happy morons.”

Rose sniffed.

“Jacks, I am well aware of the Doctor’s preferences. Listen, I’ve a call into Clive. I’ve contacted the head of UNIT to see if any missions are one. I’ve got a man on Sean Martin as well as Suzie Costello. So far no one knows about any missions on tap. I haven’t gotten ahold of Kate Stuart’s team yet. It could all still work out. The Doctor likes Lethbridge-Stuart for some strange reason. She can’t stand him but he defers to her more than any of the other team leads. Hold tight. I’ll call back when I have anything.”

Rose felt cold. “He’s in trouble.”

“He’s always in trouble,” Jackie said, popping her mobile back into her Fendi purse. 

“Mum, if we don’t find him soon, he’s going to die.” Rose stood up as the cold feeling spread.

“Rose…”

Rose spun to face her. “No, no I’m right. He’s in trouble. I know it. I feel it. We can’t wait for Pete. We have to find him ourselves. Now.”

“Sweetheart, no, Pete…

“Won’t find him in time. I know it.”

“We have no idea where he is. What can we do?” Jackie asked, eyes worried.

Ian appeared in his bubble. 

Rose grinned. “I have an idea.”


	21. Tribulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of blood in this one... oops.

Bloody, strapped down to a table, the Doctor called out, “If you wanted to spend some quality time with me, Dr. Costello, all you had to do was ask.”

“And what if you had said no, Doctor? What then? I would have been heartbroken. Imagine me dressed up with nowhere to go.” The overhead light snapped one, leaving him blinking in the sterile white room. 

“Ah well, we can’t have that,” the Doctor quipped, lifting his head to look around. His eyes lingered on the surgical tray. “Don’t suppose you’re going to do a thorough examination and let me go?”

Suzie stepped closer. She was dressed in blue scrubs, her hair tied back under a surgical cap, mask dangling. The scrubs were spattered with bright red. The scent of blood hung suspended in the air between them. “I am going to do a very thorough examination, yes, you’re right.”

The Doctor’s heart pounded at the dark look in her eyes. He felt like a steak on a plate as she lifted a scalpel. Frantically, he worked his wrists trying to loosen a strap. His sonic was on the tray next to a nasty looking drill. If he wasn’t very much mistaken, he was about to experience his own dissection. Puffing out a breath, the Doctor said, “Rose is going to kill you.”

“She’s in the next room,” Suzie said. 

He slammed himself forward, bucking the restraints. “What did you do to her?!?”

Suzie grinned. “Let me show you.” 

Rose screamed. Shoving a fist in her mouth to stop herself. Tears choked her. Mickey was there in seconds. Rose scrabbled for the journal, writing down the details of another death. Her head pounding, stomach roiling, she puked into a bucket Mickey must have grabbed during her episode. “I can’t keep him alive! I can’t! He always dies. No matter what I do, Mickey, he dies.”  
Mickey pulled her into a hug. Rose dropped the pen. “You know you can’t stay. Ever since you started having these visions of a one-hearted Doctor which by the way we don’t even know is for sure going to happen, you’ve been dreaming of his death. You can’t help him. And if you stay, you die too.”

Rose’s skin crawled. “I can’t leave him.” It was WRONG. She couldn’t leave him here to get dissected. “How can I leave him here, alone?”

Mickey sat back. “It’s not meant to be, Rose. The visions prove it. You have to go or you both die. It’s a shame you can’t be two places at once.”

“What if…” Rose remembered a dream she had where she’d been in a tube. “All I’ve got to do is be two places at once! Mickey, you’re a genius!”

“I am? That’s right, I am…”

Clive called. Rose had to dig the mobile out of the cushions where she had tossed it in disgust. “The Doctor’s missing,” Rose said by way of greeting.

“I know, love,” Clive’s reassuring rumble calmed Rose’s jumbled nerves for a second before she started pacing. Clive sounded as if he knew what was going on. Rose clung to the idea that he might have something for her, some modicum of hope. “It was always going to happen.”

“What?!” Rose demanded standing up to glare at the mobile. Jackie was in the hall talking to Jake. She had already talked to half of Torchwood on Rose’s behalf. Jake was searching the old Torchwood facility top to bottom. Kate had checked in with no knowledge of any missions. Several others had as well, all coordinating through the elder Tylers.  
Each negative response had made the squirming, itchy uncomfortable feeling in her grow and twist. Rose was twitchy. Time was running out. She knew it. The Doctor was out there, in trouble, and it was deadly serious. “Clive, you better tell me what you know or I will leap through this mobile to choke the information out of you,” Rose threatened.

“Right, I know I deserve that. Just know I’m working on orders from the highest authority when I tell you, that you need to find the Doctor yourself and fast. No one else can do it. It has to be you, Rose Tyler.”

Rose knew he was right. She felt it down in her bones and guts and soul. “How?” She asked, voice tiny.

“I don’t know, love,” Clive said. “I’m just following the script here. It’s all--nevermind about all that now. I’ll explain after you rescue the Doctor, alright? Oh, right, erm, there’s something you did that she wouldn’t have thought of... She told me that much. I have no idea if that helps… Please save him. He’s an arse a lot of the time but he doesn’t deserve to die. Good luck.” He disconnected.

“Wait!!! No, Clive you,” She redialed him and it rang and rang. Rose gripped her mobile tightly. “I’m not even sure who I am yet? What could I have done that could help save the Doctor?”

Ian appeared in front of her, concern in the eye that watched her. Rose wished she could hug him. If only he were like a dog, she could have him follow the Doctor’s scent… “Oh, something she never would have thought of… Ian! I got the Tardis a pet… And she evolved you. Oh, who's a good boy, Ian?”

Ian swam back and forth in his bubble. “Magic fish can you go anywhere?”

Ian blinked.

“Can you find the Doctor?”

Ian blinked.

Rose bit her lip so hard, it bled. The fish swam around her in a circle. Rose sighed. Even if he was a very advanced goldfish, he was still a goldfish. He couldn’t understand her, not really. But the Tardis could! Rose raced into the coral. Standing by the tank, she reached a hand in to touch the warm coral. She was telepathic. She pushed the idea of the Doctor to the forefront of her mind. Focusing hard on his messy brown hair, his wild dark brown eyes and the grin he reserved for Rose, she thought, “Help me find him.”

A question floated into her mind, loosely following the image of a water distorted Doctor adding fish flakes to the coral tank and a stream of other images from when the coral was first dropped into the tank to when Rose first appeared. 

“Help me… Oh, how do I?” She imagined herself by the tank with the Doctor. “Help me make this happen.” She followed it with images of them on the sofa under a blanket and snuggled up in bed. She then imagined how she felt in a room without him.”

Ian appeared beside her. A pressing against her mind showed her images of her and the Doctor walking into a room with glowing living coral wrapped through machinery and a second image with Rose standing over a grave. Rose reacted badly, fat tears leaking out of her eyes as she mentally tried to grasp the first image. The pressure formed another image of Rose and the Doctor kissing beside an image of the Doctor bleeding out. Rose again reached for the first with her mind, trying to cling to it.

Ian swirled around inside his bubble. His tiny fish eye glowed mauve. The bubble vanished. A feeling of peace settled into the room. Rose wiped the tears from her eyes, racing into the living room to see if Ian were in there, or the bedroom, or the hall.

Ian reappeared. His eye glowed emerald. Rose stepped toward him. The fish moved backward. Rose stepped forward, Ian retreated. Rose stopped. Ian swam around her. Rose took a step forward. He took off like a shot. 

Rose raced after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Ian Lassie? Maybe. Let me know what you think in the comments.


	22. Cavalries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Tyler eats Impossible for breakfast.

When Clive saw the Doctor on the monitor, he spit his coffee out. Probably for the best, it had been burnt and filled to the brim with cream and sugar. Staring he saw the tall skinny man with rooster-like brown hair lying on one of the Torchwood quarantine cells. He was alone. Cursing, he mopped up the coffee with his right hand as he pulled open the desk drawer with his left, scrabbling for the notebook. “Oh shit, no Rose. No Rose, no Rose… She was right. Oh shit, it’s up to me. Oh, shit.”

Scribbled in his personal code were his instructions. Slipping from the room with one last look at the forlorn alien, Clive disappeared from BigBen and headed over to Canary Wharf, sweating it the entire time. Rose Tyler had trusted him. He wasn’t about to let her down. He read the instructions twelve times before waving his way into the building and taking the elevator down to the levels he wasn’t supposed to know anything about. Pulling the sonic screwdriver they’d recovered from his pocket, he scrambled the cameras with the setting he’d scribbled down.

“Step one, kill the feed, no CCTV. Check.” 

Clive walked down the hall to the unmarked door. He entered Rose’s birthday. The door slid open, the lights popping on as he stepped into the dark room. The lab smelled oddly of chicken soup. The central metal tube was obscuring whatever was sloshing around in there. Clive had an inkling. Rose had taken a memory print. She had saved blood. She had said she wasn’t coming back and also that she wasn’t leaving everyone behind. That tube had a girl in it… a girl who was going to be Rose Tyler. 

And she needed him.

“Step two…”

Rose Tyler was following a fish. She felt like a cartoon princess. Ian’s bubble drifted along the street, shimmering with iridescence in the street lamps. Every few minutes he would vanish, Rose would falter, shivering in the cold crisp night air wondering if he’d come back only for him to reappear, repeat his following motion, and the chase was back on. Her heart was permanently lodged in her throat. Her skin crawled, the itching burrowing deep into her forcing her to shake periodically. Time. Was. Running. Out.

Ian floated onto a bus. Rose hopped on behind him. The driver never noticed the floating, slightly glowing fish. The bus leaped forward. Ian vanished. Rose sat. Her phone was blowing up with missed calls from Jackie, Pete, and Clive. Rose dialed Clive. 

“Rose,” he whispered.

“Clive, the Doctor’s missing.”

Rose glanced around to see other passengers watching her with curious eyes. Rose glanced out the window, shocked to see her eyes. They were backlit with a gold light. 

“Close your eyes, love,” Clive urged. “Close your eyes and breathe out. Can you do that for me, Rose? Please.”

Rose glared at a young couple who had pulled up their cellphones to record her. “What are you looking at?” Rose growled.

“Rose, damn it, stop. How fast do you think they’ll catch you if you go around glowing in the dark?”

“How did you-?” Rose glanced in the glass again, her eyes blazing. Fear froze her guts.

“The Doctor needs you,” Clive insisted. “Now close your eyes and breathe it out. They know you’ve left the flat. They’re hunting you now. They don’t know you’re hunting them.”

“Clive-?” Rose closed her eyes tight, breathing in and out. “What’s happening?”

“Rose, I discovered a plot to kill Rose Tyler if she came back from the Dimension Cannon Mission. But Rose Tyler already knew about it. She saw all of this in dreams, or visions, or something. It’s why she left.” Clive was still whispering but Rose could hear him clicking away at a computer. “She knew about the Doctor getting trapped here.”

Rose’s blood boiled. Gritting her teeth, she hissed, “And she left him here to die?”

She opened her eyes, the glow brighter and more orange now. The bus slowed to a stop. The couple was openly staring at her. Rose showed them her teeth. The couple leaped off. The doors shut. Rose couldn’t stop itching and it was making her so angry. How dare she? How dare she leave the Doctor alone to die when she knew he was in danger. She knew! Rose would tear her way into that other dimension and rip her into tiny pieces!

“No, love, she created you to save him.” 

The light in her eyes went out. “What?”

Clive let out a slow breath. “She had nightmares. She saw him die hundreds of times, thousands of times maybe. If she stayed he died. If she left he died. She saw potential timelines and every single one ended with the new Doctor dead. She tore herself up. She wanted to save him, Rose, she was desperate to do it. But she couldn’t…” Clive was walking.

“Why?” Rose Tyler had been a hero. She had been the brave, wonderfully compassionate savior of the multiverse. What couldn’t she do? She ate impossible for breakfast! “Why couldn’t she?”

“I don’t know, Rose. She never told me. She was sure. She never would have left him here if it could have been her. She knew it had to be you. You do or did something Rose wouldn’t have thought of…”

“What?”

“I don’t know, something unique to you. She never found him. Every time she was too late. She never found the Doctor in time. She couldn’t. But you can, can’t you, Rose?”

Ian reappeared.

“I can.” Rose stood up, beaming. 

“I’ll be right behind you, love.”


	23. Other Perspectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was the Doctor thinking on the Tardis? Will the Duplicate Rose save her Duplicate Doctor?

At any moment his happy facade was going to crack. Someone, probably Donna if he didn’t miss his mark, was going to notice the darkness in him. They’d saved the Earth! They’d saved everyone! Twenty-seven planets protected by Timelord Technology being dragged back to their place in space and time. It was an amazing victory! By all rights, he should be the happiest he had ever been. Sarah Jane smiled at him. Donna was ogling Jack and behind him, Rose Tyler… He bit his lip and concentrated on the stabilizer switches. Wouldn’t want Iowa to fly off and land in Utah… Wouldn’t want to think about the love of his lives behind him.

He caught the meta crisis’ eyes. Their minds hummed against one another, not dipping in, not connecting just hovering. It was too weird. Too uncomfortable to be around yourself. He was a sideways regeneration. He was new. He was the luckiest son of a bitch in all the multiverse. He dipped his chin to him and the ghost of that new one’s thoughts trickled in.   
\  
**Don’t do it. Keep us both.**

*You know what happens next.* He thought loud enough for the Doctor in Blue to hear. *The Ood said our song is ending. I can’t… I can’t take her from them and from me.* Flashes of timelines that ended poorly winked into existence around the pair; A glass box loomed.

The Doctor in Blue arched a brow. He knew what it meant. Time can be rewritten. His eyes flicked to Donna. Not all of Time… not everything could be fixed with a bit of misdirection and a wave of the sonic screwdriver. It wasn’t magic. 

*You should be cheering, you’re the one who gets to retire. You’re the one who’s going to be free.* He glanced away to smile at Jackie and to stare hungrily at Rose. *I want to be free.* He thought, letting that one slip through to his other self. 

The blue version of him smirked, his mind quieting as Martha said something to him, neatly distracting him. But the words he didn’t think out loud were there in his smirk. **You’re an idiot.** 

Rose Tyler’s scent increased as she sidled up to him. Inhaling, he memorized the scent of her human skin (sun-soaked) with a hint of her strawberry shampoo and the thick overlay of the crucible. She slipped her hand into his. He clung to her fingers as if she were a lifeline he could take instead of a line he had to cast off to protect her. He was going to have a really good cry after this one. He squeezed harder. Her whole body was pressed along the side of his, soothing his jangled nerves and bringing a smile unbidden to his face. He loved her. Rassilon, she was everything! He hoped the idea of her happy with Him who was him after all, would soothe the dark chasms he felt opening down the faultlines of his hearts.

Rose rose up on her toes. Her breath hitting his neck. Several hormone factories in his body got to work with a hot silvery arousal. He bit his lip, resisting the urge to push her away, or cling to her tighter. She was murdering his resolve right now. He resisted a frustrated groan. The Universe was a monstrously evil thing. See if he’d save it anymore after this great sacrifice.  
She took a breath and her voice… That voice! The one that had haunted his dream in a more erotic way than he had ever truly been comfortable with whispered, “I’m still the Bad Wolf and I can’t, I won’t ever leave you.”

What? A shock of electricity went through him as the timelines rearranged themselves. Her mind brushed up against his, showing him the deaths of his other self and hers, dozens, hundreds of deaths. Rose with him = death. He blinked. The timelines here with her were glowing and stretching. Adventures exploded into life. New endings for all of the people around him. His hand shook in hers. 

In wonder, he glanced up at the Doctor in Blue. *I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.*

But he wasn’t. Not really.

Rose was in an abandoned warehouse. Ian glowed in the dark as he swam across the large open space. Pieces of machinery loomed, hulking great abandoned things, smelling faintly of rust and old motor oil. She didn’t have time to figure out what their purpose had been. With her swiss cheese memory, there was no guaranteeing she had ever known. Her skin itched. Her mind pulled her forward. It was as if there were a clock in her head counting down to the Doctor’s death. She sprinted.

Ian led her to a dark stairwell. She froze. Voices. She heard voices. Ian winked out. The Doctor was rambling. Her guts unknotted. He was alive! She wasn’t late! She searched the ground for a weapon. An old piece of pipe lay on a ledge by the door as if it had been used as a doorstop in the past. Rose scooped it up, choking up on it. 

His voice washed over her. “Oh, this is nonsense! I’m no more a threat to the human race then solar panels! I’m useful and handy. I was a hand once. No, no, no,” he cut off with a grunt.

“Oh Doctor, you are handy, you are useful,” a woman purred. 

“Really? Great. Now, if you’d let me go I can provide you with reams and reams of useful scientific knowledge. What do you say? Want to invent something to stop world hunger? Perhaps a cleaner fuel? Patent free and pending for you? Billions. You could do a good thing, be a hero, and wealthy… Just let me go and forget about Rose.”

Rose inched closer. The dirty old hallway shifted to a pristine white room with a glass door sitting open. Two people in lab coats had their backs to her. On a table between them, pitched up in a parody of standing was the Doctor. Blood was soaking his oxford. One of his arms was strapped to a board with several IVs attached. It was as if they were replacing his blood with saline solution. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip busted, and his suit was filthy. A tray of surgical tools sat on a silver tray beside him. The clock in her head was ticking down. Rose was hot. She gripped the pip until her knuckles turned white. A soft growl escaped her.

The Doctor’s head tilted. His eyes locking onto hers. Widening, boggling he stared at her. Rose’s heart hurt.

“There’s no way I’m forgetting about your girlfriend,” a male voice said. “She’s ruined all of my projects this year. And she set all the little bells and whistles off at work. She’s not human. She’s not remotely human. And it's alien, it's ours. We’re going to cut her into bite-sized chunks on the same table you’re on. Once we’re done removing your organs one by one while you watch. But please, feel free to tell us your ideas while we dissect you. Once you’re both gone, Clive Finch is going to have a heart attack. Maybe the rest of the Tylers will have an accident… Then we’ll have no more invaders from other dimensions. Earth will be safe.” The man shifted around. 

Rose moved to make sure no one could see her, keeping her eyes locked on the Doctor. He gazed at her with his one good eye. She knew he wanted her to leave him. She knew it in her bones and skin. It was never going to happen.

“Then what, Sean?” the Doctor asked.

“Then what?” Sean repeated. 

“I’m dead. Rose is dead, Pete, Jackie, Clive, even lil baby Tony is dead I presume and then what? Going to kill e’ryone in UNIT and Torchwood who dis-disagrees with you?” The Doctor’s head lolled to catch Sean’s eye. His skin was deathly pale. The clock in her mind sped up. 

“Oh, no, we’ve already got everyone in place. There’s no place on our planet for aliens. We can’t trust them. Earth is ours. All it takes is one ‘alien attack’ at the right time and the remains Torchwood will turn dragging UNIT kicking and screaming into the light,” Suzie remarked. “I’m going to use your blood to create all sorts of marvels. You’ll live on forever. You’ll be a new Henrietta Lacks. Won’t that be a nice little immortality for you?”

Rose heart pounded. The Doctor’s life force was ebbing away as he was bled out. Rage flooded her. The growl that escaped her was more of a howl now. She charged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting down to it. Thanks for reading! I love everyone who comments or kudos or just loves Tentoo.


	24. Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue happens

Rose sliced a hole in the chair. Taking the glowing back up of her memory into the hole, she hissed when it sizzled a little bit. Blowing it out, she tossed the afghan over it. The burn wasn’t something the Doctor would ever pay attention to unless there was a mystery happening nearby. Her dreams had shown him here pacing. She had also seen him building a Tardis in her office. Rose smiled. She was glad he wouldn’t be trapped on one planet. He’d cause so much trouble. Rose hated that she wouldn’t get to experience a grounded Doctor herself. She bit her lip. He was going to be an entirely different Doctor from the one she was going to end up with...maybe. Or all of this was for nothing and she was completely bonkers.

She called Clive. “You’ve written everything down for me?” She had put a lot of pressure on him. She’d hid things from him for weeks and drilled him on the lies he would have to tell, the moves he would have to make. The Doctor had warned her that being the one with foreknowledge was a burden. Rose really hadn’t understood at the time. She’d thought he was being melodramatic. Turns out he had been downplaying everything. She hoped he could end the visions for her or maybe they would end when she had done what she needed to do on the other side of that damned white wall.

“Oh, oh, oh, is it happening? Hell, Rose, you’ve been tearing that dead Tardis apart for weeks. I thought we’d have more time.” Clive sounded frantic. “I’m not ready. I’m not a good liar. The Doctor will see right through me…I can’t do it.”

“You can. Clive, you and Mickey have been with me since the beginning of this. I’d ask him but I think he’s going to go home.”

“Can you see that?” Clive asked and she heard him scrambling for a pen or some papers of that notebook he liked to write codes in.

“Not that way,” she snorted. Lately, everything she said Clive took as the gospel truth. “My eyes aren’t glowing or anythin’. He’s my best friend. I think he’s done everything he wanted to do here. I wish I felt the same way. I’ve worked for years to get back to him. It’s what I want but Mum, and Tony...and Pete.”

“And Clive,” he added.”

“And Clive,” she agreed.

“You have to go. You know what happens to the Doctor if you stay. You have to give him a chance to survive. Then both Universes get a Doctor...and a Rose.”  
She dawdled, unsure even after the relentless visions. “That’s the plan.” Rose pulled the DVD from her jacket and slid it into a copy of A Christmas Carol. “Don’t worry about me. I know it’s going to work out well for everyone. And that I can promise with spooky Bad Wolf know-how. I’ll meet you at Torchwood. The last jump. I’m going to save the world!”

“And you’re not coming back, are you?”

“That was always what I wanted…” Rose spun. Jackie stood there in her expensive clothes with her perfect manicure, coiffed hair, and the same old Tyler stare. Rose puffed out a breath. “I have to stay with the Doctor, Mum. There’s a lot I haven’t told you.”

Jackie grabbed her arm pulling it out and flipping it. “And a lot I’ve already guessed.” The slice Rose had taken the day before on a jagged piece of metal was a thin pink line on her skin today. “Sweetheart, I’m a smart, capable woman who raised a smart capable woman. I was hoping you’d realize that and tell me the truth on your own. That time you went after the Doctor and he came back all bouncy puppy… It did something to you, didn’t it? We tore open the Tardis and you… what did you do to yourself?”

“I don’t know!” Rose pulled away, frustrated with herself. She should have told her mother. “I thought I was fine. The Doctor said he got it all out of me. But one of those planets woke it up in me… See, that’s why I’ve got to go. I know what happens today. Not how. Not the details but I know where I need to end up.” Rose pulled her mother into a tight hug. “I love you. I’m not leavin’ you alone, I promise.” 

“You are.” Jackie Tyler insisted.

She wasn’t. She really wasn’t.

“Rose?”

Charging into the room, the itching under Rose Tyler’s skin exploded into fiery energy whipping out of her eyes and licking around her orbital sockets. Tears rolled down her face, splashing to the ground in hissing molten gold. The universe expanded in front of her. The walls became gateways. She could sense every life in London, in England, in Great Britain, in the world, spiraling out to worlds so far away the lifeforms barely resembled the humans clinging to the skin of this tiny world. Their pulses beat within her blood. Their destinies shining brightly. The past stretched out below her and away as other universes folded around her. She touched the mind of the Tardis and her Mother. She felt her own twin. She was every Rose tyler in every universe and they were all angry at two of the entities in this room. She howled.

“I can see the whole of your lives.”

The two creatures' threads were mauve, rotting all the timelines touching theirs. Her anger crackled around her as a wind rose up. Her hair whipped away from her face, floating. She growled, showing teeth. 

The Doctor was screaming at them to get away from her. He pleaded with her to stop. He told her she was going to kill herself, weakening as he put all his energy into her. “Let it go! You don’t have to be the Bad Wolf, Rose. Please Rose,” he whispered.

Rose’s eyes snapped to him. The universe narrowed down to the man bleeding out, the very special man strapped to the metal table. Her heart broke. His song was ending. “No.” She wouldn’t allow it. Her hands lifted. The restraints snapped. The Doctor slid down to the bottom of the table in a heap. Rose glared at the blood stolen from her Doctor. “Thieves,” she hissed, her voice thick as if doubled.

“Rose please, we need a hospital. Things are a bit black around the edges. Bit disturbing… Is this death? It’s so boring…where’re the flashbacks? The friends floating around insisting I live...not white lights? No tunnel...” He blinked, head lolling as he focused on her. “You can’t hold that power. You’re human… I can’t regenerate anymore…” His light flickered.  
Rose blinked away the tears. Her head hurt. She had to save him. He was hers. Maybe he couldn’t regenerate but he could heal. She could heal him. A glow followed the lines up to the bags of his blood. The blood evaporated them into a mini cloud of regeneration energy. 

“That’s so…” Eyes wide, he inhaled the cloud. His light stopped flickering. 

Suzie and Sean hadn't stopped moving. They had turned to face her. She had known. She could see them moving, having moved, and where they would move. Sean held a gun. He would fire it, already had in a future timeline. She stopped it, crushing the timeline.The gun melted. Sean dropped it, crying out. Weakness rushed through her. She stumbled. The energy around her flickered. The pain increased. She was crying. She touched her face to see the hot gold tears as Suzie grabbed her. 

Everything Suzie had ever been or would ever be in two thousand multiverse timelines were funneled into her through Rose’s skin. It was like touching a live wire full of hell. Suze fell away from her, frantically crying out, “NO!” over and over again.She was tiny and forgotten.

Sean made a grab for her. The Doctor popped. He grabbed Sean’s arm. Gold motes still flickering around him. “I wouldn’t. Look what she did to your co-conspirator, Sean. she’s brimming with energy. She’s bursting with Time. She’s the living embodiment of the Time Vortex at this moment. Touch her now and go mad.”

“This is why you can’t live. No one can have power like this. No one.” Sean backed away before racing out of the room. Rose let him go. She couldn’t see him anymore. She couldn’t see anything anymore. She was PAIN. A gasping little cry escaped her. The Doctor loomed. He was her whole world. He grabbed her shoulders. His giant dark chocolate eyes boring into hers.   
“Please. Please Rose. Please let it go.”

“I can’t… How can I?” Rose felt her heart racing. “I don’t know how to stop.”

He let out a breath. “I can’t do it for you. I would. Please. Please let go. I love you. I can't live without you. Rose...”

Clive appeared in the doorway, “Oh good, right on time.”

Rose spun to face him seeing hundreds of Clive’s out in the multiverse. All of them were clever and useful and friendly. That’s why she was so surprised when he shot her. The world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a little short but I can't resist a 'fade to black' ending.


	25. Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost done... but not yet.

he Doctor walked away from Rose. It did not feel right. His time senses were tingling in an itchy seconds-after-eating-aspirin sort of way. He turned back but Rose had already gotten on the train. She was gone. The gnawing emptiness inside his chest where his second heart used to be ached, reminding him of what he was and wasn’t anymore. Puffing out a breath, he muttered, “Let’s get on with it, Spaceman.”

The address appeared in his texts. He hit the map link. He’d have to hop on and get off in Harringay. These aliens on this planet in this universe had no sense of style at all. He hopped on, resisting the urge to text Rose. The itching had settled behind his eyes. He jammed his left palm up against his eye hoping the pressure would alleviate the itch. It didn’t. Hissing, he paused. Blinked. Concentrating, he opened his time senses. A flash of pain went through him. Gripping the bar above his head, he bit back a groan as his unreliable hybrid senses tried to make sense of the timelines around him. He glared at the kid in head to toe red and white Adidas. “I’ve been stupid, and lazy, and afraid. I never spent the proper time meditating.”

“I hear that bruv,” the kid said, “My Nan is always going on about clear heads and clear hearts and minds. You should try ‘The Two Hearts of Man’ by that lady with a guy’s name… Jo grant?”

Jo Grant… the Doctor snorted. The kid glared thinking he was scoffing instead of well scoffing, but at the whimsical nature of the universe not his reading list. His spunky old friend Jo was just the type to write that sort of...book. She had been all light and hippies and traveling down the Amazon river in a steamer trunk. “She’ll change your life. Get you in touch with your inner self…”

The Doctor nodded. “Yeah, thanks, I will. Later…” He concentrated on the itching wondering if it could be a fledgling link. Could he and Rose somehow be telepathically linked? Itchy skin was a new one on him. New new new Doctor...new new new senses? Or adaptation of senses? Nah… Probably too many synthetic chemicals in his laundry detergent. Besides, he hadn’t set one and they hadn’t been close enough to do it by accident.

The kid arched a brow. Right. He needed enlightenment.

“Here, let me make a note in my phone, alright?”

Gold light woke her, warm against the skin of her face. She could see it, feel it even with her eyes closed. Cracking them open, she winced at the morning light spilling onto the bed. The blue duvet covering her surrounded her in the familiar scents of tea, laundry detergent, a hint of dust, and the Doctor. Rose smiled. She was in the flat, in bed, with the Doctor. Had it been a dream? The warehouse? The blood? As her eyes adjusted, her body sent back information. Her toes wiggled. She was hungry. Her mouth was death. There was a heat blazing in her side below her ribs. She shifted. Panic shot through her, the adrenaline burning off the remains of sleep. She could move. Her toes proved it. Her fingers wiggled. She was being held down, pinned down by weights all around her and across her stomach. 

Opening her eyes, she faced one round solemn golden fish eye.

“Ian,” Rose whispered, her throat dry and her voice papery.

The fish in his iridescent bubble floated serenely before her, his long delicate, decorated fins floating in his water. Rose watched the fish. The fish watched her. After a minute, he vanished, satisfied that she was awake, maybe? Rose turned her head left. The Doctor was beside her, pressed snugly up against her with his arm slung possessively/protectively across her middle. His eyes were fluttering behind his eyelids. Rose hoped it was a good dream. She wanted to pet him but her hand was stuck fast. Tilting her head right she was met with blonde hair, a hint of perfume, and the warm body of Jackie Tyler. Lifting her head she spotted Pete lying across the foot of the bed, his head pillowed against Jackie’s knees.

“Jackie?”

“Mmmph,” muttered Jackie Tyler, her lovely cornflower blue eyes open but not seeing anything. “Keep it down, Rose, sweetheart. Tony’s jus’ gone down for a nap. S’been hell havin’ a newborn after so many…” Jackie’s voice trailed off into soft snores.

“Sorry Mum,” Rose replied, smirking as her mother grumbled some more before rolling away from her. Rose lifted her now free arm shaking it to get rid of the pins and needles feeling. What had happened? How did she get home? How was the Doctor here? 

The Doctor stirred. Rose shifted to face him. The thick scent of sleepy Doctor threatened to drag her back under, especially when he pulled her up against him, cuddling her in his sleep. He shoved his cold nose into her neck, letting out a pleased hum. Rose giggled. His eyes opened. “Rose?”

The arms around her tightened. “You ‘kay?”

Rose nodded, “Yeah. think so.”

The Doctor shot up, dragging her with him. “Clive! He shot you!”

Jackie startled awake, popped up, waking Pete. The quiet morning was broken as her family exploded into questions, comments, and more questions. Rose didn’t have any answers besides saying. “I’m fine!” Over and over again as each hugged her in turn. The Doctor scanned her with his sonic. Jackie then took the sonic to scan the Doctor to his chagrin. “You collapsed too!” Jackie protested.

The Doctor dutifully rescanned himself on the setting that-he announced loudly-wasn’t for drying socks.

Turned out, Clive hadn’t legged it. He was asleep on the sofa. When the shouting began he had gotten up and put the kettle on. The Doctor had bruising on his arms that were fading from green to gold as Rose touched them. He slid his hand down her arm catching her hand and swinging it with his. A smile lit him up from the inside. 

“Somebody want to tell me what’s happening?” Jackie demanded. 

Clive appeared in the doorway with a tray full of tea in mismatched mugs. Jackie Tyler roared and threw herself fists first at Clive. The Doctor easily caught her, a hair's breadth from tearing him to shreds with his alien reflexes but he earned himself a kick to the shins for his trouble. “Ow! No, Jackie, no.”

“Mum! Stop it! What’s happening?” Rose asked as they all talked around and over her. She heard snippets of conversations about Sean and guns and Bad Wolf. 

“But how did you know to shoot her? How did you know it would stop the Bad Wolf and not kill her? That was a helluva a risk to take, Clive Finch. I would have had to reincarnate you to kill you because Jackie Tyler would have had you for dinner before I got the chance…” the Doctor kept his grip on Jackie who was only token struggling against him as she hurled insults at Clive, “You monster. She’s my daughter and you shot her! I will have your heart out, you watch me!”

Clive had placed the tray down, held up his hands to protect himself, and replied, “It was the only way to divert her. She was too focused on timelines, the energy, and the Doctor! An injury would--”

The Doctor released Jackie to slap himself in the forehead, “Oh, of course!!! The shock to her system and the need to heal would power the response down. Like shutting off a light switch, an all-powerful, nuclear weapon laden lightswitch… That’s cor, that’s I repeat because it bears repeating: an incredible risk to take with Rose’s life. Jackie eat his heart…” the Doctor waved her on only to catch her when Jackie squared her shoulders and rushed forward. “I was kidding,” he said with a laugh, “He saved her life, Jackie.”

Rose whistled, a piercing thing of beauty and a skill she didn’t know she possessed. The room fell silent. “Everyone but the Doctor out. Go… drink your tea in the living room. Mum, don’t murder Clive. Dad, that goes for you too.”

“Are you sure, sweetheart?” Pete asked as Jackie said, “I’m not going anywhere with him.”

“Yeah, think so. It’s too noisy. Can’t think with all that.” Rose waved at them. 

Clive stepped in front of her with a steaming mug of tea. “Here, Rose, the caffeine will help.”

Rose nodded, accepting the mug even as Jackie Tyler protested. “What if he’s poisoned it?”

The Doctor ushered them all out. He closed the door with a sharp click. Nervously, he leaned against the door. His eyes flicked from her face to her bare feet. Rose was dressed in his pajamas again. The soft blue fabric was comforting. The tee hung loosely and his eyes bored into the spot that was warm. He licked his lips, nervously. Was he about to lie to her about what had happened? Rose arched a brow. He tugged his ear. That was a yes.

“Don’t bother,” she said as he blurted out, “wouldn’t dream of it.”

“You were though,” Rose countered. He kicked off the door approaching her with slow movements as if she were some small animal that startled easily. He grabbed the edge of her t-shirt and inched it up. “Doctor...why are you lifting my shirt?”

“My shirt, I’ll do what I like with it,” he said, in a teasing tone. He slapped her hands away. “Stop, I’m checking your injury. Not...the other thing. Not with your mother in the other room.” He didn’t meet her eye as he inched the fabric up, bunching it so he could see underneath her ribs but not anything more scandalous than her belly button. “Besides, you fell out of that tube starkers and you wanted me to bathe with you, not to mention you’re always trying to get me to sleep with you.”

“Not like that!” Rose laughed. “Well…”

“Yes, well,” he agreed, adding, “No reason to turn shy now. Your scan says you’re fine but the scan didn’t see you covered in blood and dropping like a stone now did it? I did and I am traumatized.” His left hand held the fabric, leaving his dominant hand to slide up her belly making the muscles twitch. The skin was hot with a hint of glittery gold roiling under the surface of pink. The Doctor splayed his hand over the new skin. Hints of gold flaked away into the air. “Fantastic.”

Rose remembered the Doctor's shirt torn open, blood being drained away into bags. The image of a dying man flashing across the backs of her eyes. A heat surged up from a deep well within her. Rose gritted her teeth against the memory. Hot hot heat rushed out from that center. The Doctor pinched her. Rose felt the heat go out. “Ow!”

“Rose, don’t think about it.” Fingers gently smoothing away the hurt from his pinch, he dropped her shirt down into place, stepping back. “Please.”

“What’s happening to me?”

Making a face, the Doctor shrugged a shoulder. “I have a theory but…”

“But?” Rose prompted.

“I think we better got ask Clive. Seems like he’s the only one who got your instruction manual.” The Doctor grinned.

Rose sputtered, insulted. “I’m not a toaster!”

“Fancy toaster… does four slices easy and hot dog buns with a little light that goes ‘ding’!” The Doctor reached for her. She slapped him away, annoyed. “I said fancy! Ow! Don’t hit me! I collapsed too. I was injured…” 

Rose pulled him into a hug. “That’s because you left me alone! We’re supposed to stick together.”

He tightened his grip on her. He was also dressed in his pajamas but his were plaid and more brown than blue. His skin was always a bit cooler than hers. He dropped a kiss onto her hair. “Alright, you win… We stick together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, few more parts for this one, and we'll have our happy ending. Thanks for being patient. Thanks for reading!


	26. Truth Trickling Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer to the end. Answers are coming slowly.

Mickey was the one sent to find Rose. She’d come back from the last mission pale yet elated. She had rushed through the mission debrief before disappearing. Jackie had been in control at the time. Rose had hugged her then abandoned her and Mickey knew what that felt like, so when Jackie Tyler asked him to go check on Rose, he stepped up. She was his best friend. Jackie was family. And you stepped up for family. 

His own flat had been packed up weeks ago. He’d moved everything important into a bug-out bag. When they found the Doctor at the right time and place, Mickey was going home. His grandma had died. Jackie was settled. Rose was… Rose. She hadn’t needed him for a long time. It was time for him to go home. Pete had this Earth covered. But Mickey thought maybe his Earth needed someone to notice things when the Doctor wasn’t around. So, mentally he had prepared himself months ago but he hadn’t prepared for the state he found Rose in.

The door to her flat wasn’t locked and the door wasn’t even closed all the way. Mickey rapped lightly before pushing inside. Rose was on the floor beside the chair. She was leaned over a marble notebook scribbling. She noticed him, glancing up her eyes glowed like molten gold. “I met Donna today.”

“Shit, Rose, your eyes. Sean catches you glowing and Suzie will dissect you.” Mickey dropped down beside her. He reached for the book. She pulled it away. “Rose?”

“Time’s running out, Mickey. I’ve got to get it all down. I can’t stop the glowin’ when it starts. Had to bolt the building with my eyes closed. ‘M seeing timelines… I thought it was dreams or whatever but it’s definitely timelines. I know you’re going home.” Gold tears slid down her face. Rose winced. She had grown thinner over the last year, losing puppy fat and gaining a hard edge. She was all grown up and glowing.

He started. “How--?”

“Not visions,” Rose muttered, scribbling in the book. “I know you, Mickey Smith. You’re like me. You want to go home because we belong there. We’re not meant to be here. We’re-maybe that’s a part of it with the tank and my plans and the other Doctor and all… He’ll belong here. She’ll belong here. They’ll be together.” More tears slid down her face. 

“Rose let go before your brains are soup,” Mickey said grabbing her hand to still the pen. She shook him off, giving him an apologetic smile. The writing continued. “Rose, if you’re going back where you belong, why are you crying?”

“Because he’s the Doctor!” Rose exploded. She pressed her palm against her head in anguish.

“He’s not though, is he. He’s a clone or something…” Mickey didn’t understand.

Rose let out a watery laugh. “I wouldn’t care if he were a clone or a bit of him or a single memory of him trapped in a mirror or a rock or a cat. He’s the Doctor. I love him. I love… him and I’m abandoning him like he’s a stray. He’s going to be hurt. I know what that’s like and it kills me.”

Mickey pulled her into a hug. “Rose Tyler, you’ve got to do this. The stars are disappearing. We’re going to save the world again. Then you and him will go back to saving the universe, that one. And here… here… if everything you’ve set up goes off without a hitch, then you and him will go back to saving the universe...this one. S’good. S’fine. Stuff of legends. It’s really comic book chic.”

Rose giggled. “And what are you going to do?”

“Get some proper chips. Proper pizza with extra cheese… listen to loads of songs with the correct lyrics… Save the world on weekends.”

“That sounds right,” Rose said. She scribbled in her notebook. Mickey watched her until the glow died out. She smiled at him with her normal beautiful caramel eyes and Mickey sighed.

“We’ll get through it all together, yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah, ‘course we will.”

“I’m sorry I lied to you, Doctor. I knew. I knew about you, Rose, and where you came from. I helped develop the memory matrix that was melted,” Clive began. He had a notebook in his lap. He caressed it nervously. “I ah, knew that Rose wasn’t coming back. I even knew Mickey was planning on staying too. He’d left me some letters…”

Rose and the Doctor had settled into the armchair. Rose was fiddling with the loose threads on the burnt hole in it. The Doctor was on the opposite arm. His species probably had different sorts of chairs since he was so opposed to sitting in human chairs normally. He had his arm along the back of the chair, his long legs crossed and bouncing. Rose placed a hand on his knee to soothe him. 

“Why?” the Doctor asked. His voice was level, flat, devoid of emotion. Rose was worried about him because this conversation looked like it was heading in one direction: Original Rose Tyler. He knew he felt hurt, rejected by the woman he had loved originally. She squeezed his knee.

“Rose went to this planet, Not Kansas… Well, it wasn’t Kansas or not Kansas it was just something Rose said. We joked about it. When she was there, she said the sky was orange.”

The Doctor sat up straight, radiating tension.

“She… looked into something on the planet. That’s when the visions started.” Clive picked up the notebook and handed it to the Doctor. “In there are four major scenarios that Rose saw in visions. For each scenario, there were instructions on how to help things along.”

“Help things along?” The Doctor sounded angry. “We’re not puppets.”

Jackie Tyler remained quiet, her mouth pressed in a grim line.

“No, nothing like that. Not choosing for you… Just what I needed to do if you made certain choices to make sure Rose… you, Rose, didn’t burn up when the time came to use your abilities. Rose when you were down there in that room, you were glowing but you were burning up. The book was just an outline… a guide for me to protect the pair of you because Rose Tyler was and hopefully is my friend. And I promised her that I’d give you two a fighting chance.” Clive let out a breath. “There’s more.”

“More than you playing ‘choose your own adventure with our lives’?” The Doctor’s tone had gone casually quiet. 

“Doctor, you didn’t see what Rose was like in those last few months. She was so strong. Suffering from nightmares, her eyes would glow, she was determined to save everyone. I had to help her. She’s my friend, you see. She saved me from an alternate universe where everyone died. Everyone but me. I believe in her.”

Pete sighed. “She left notes for me. She told me to start Project Phoenix. She also said some personal things. I didn’t know you wouldn’t have her memories, sweetheart. I didn’t know if you would live. I was just asked to push the button and I did. I’m glad I did too. I love you like my own. Neither of you was mine originally but doesn’t matter. You’re both my little girls.”

Rose’s heart clenched. She had a memory flash of this wonderful man before her but he was younger with more red hair and terrible clothes lying in the street dying. Rose shook her head to clear it. Jackie blinked tears out of her eyes. She hugged her husband tightly. “The same goes for me. I never thought I’d have anymore when my...other Pete died. Now I’ve you, and her and Tony and this plum here.” 

The Doctor sniffed, pretending he wasn’t touched. Rose felt the tension go out of him beside her. “Well, Clive, I forgive you. You saved my Rose. But I want the whole story out of you.”

Clive slapped his legs and stood up, ignoring the Doctor’s claim. “Right, that’s me off then after one more secret. He walked over to the wall, underneath the painting Rose had once found a picture behind. He stomped on the floorboard. It flipped up. “Inside there, you’ll find the letter Rose left for you, Doctor. Plus a few things for you too, Rose.”

Without another word, Clive left.

Rose played with the frayed edges of that burned fabric again. It tingled a bit. She glanced at Jackie. Jackie looked puzzled, “What is it, sweetheart?”

Rose felt strange. “You… you slapped the Doctor.”

“She does that,” the Doctor whispered in her ear.

“No, the first time… I was so embarrassed. My mum slapped you and I fancied you and I thought, cor, couldn’t you just die.” Rose felt the memory sink down in to her and take a spot in the place before her birth. It was like a puzzle piece snapping into place.

Jackie’s eyes were wide as saucers. “You remember me! What else do you remember?” at the same time the Doctor said, “What? You never fancied that version of me.”

“Yeah, I did and no...nothing, sorry.” Rose rooted around in her own mind. The new memories were like a toothache. She prodded them and they radiated. Her head hurt. “I’m sorry.”

Jackie was kneeling in front of her. “No, don’t be sorry. If you remembered one memory, more might be in there. But it doesn’t matter. If you never remember, I will always love you because you are my daughter. And I did slap him right in his stupid smug face, didn’t I Doctor?”

Rose laughed.

“Oi! Jackie,” the Doctor protested as he scanned Rose again. “That hurt! You almost knocked a tooth out, you monster.” He checked his scan. “That’s enough for now. Rose needs rest.”

“I feel fine.” Rose did not feel fine. She felt faint and heavy. Ian appeared. The room filled up with thick, cloying worry. Rose glanced toward the room where the Tardis was in its tank. “No, right, I’m tired.”

Pete stood up, fascinated by Ian. “That fish is getting more and more evolved by the day. He’ll be speaking English soon… C’mon Jackie, we’ve got another child to look in on. We leave Tony alone too long and he’ll probably take something apart.” He approached Rose and kissed her forehead. “Someone explain all of this to us tomorrow, eh?”

“We’ll write a book or something,” the Doctor said airily.

Jackie pulled Rose up and into a hug. “You do feel a bit warm. Make sure this one remembers to feed you and himself. And call me tomorrow?”

The Doctor nodded. Escorting them out. He murmured a few things to her parents earning himself a hug. He came back to investigate the secret panel in the floor. He pulled out a thick envelope and a DVD. He sat down hard on the sofa turning the envelope over and over again in his hands. Ian did a few laps around the room before vanishing. The Doctor didn’t open the envelope. “That wasn’t much of an explanation from Clive was it? Rose had visions. Rose saw timelines. Rose made a clone. That’s about it… What sort of visions? What sort of timelines? And what sort of free will have we been cheated out of?”

Faster and faster he flipped the envelope. Rose was nervous. “Doctor…”

“S’all in here, isn’t it? My rejection… My Dear John letter…or well, my ‘dear Doctor’ letter. Think let me down easy?” Flip. Flip. Flip.

“Stop it,” Rose said, bone-weary now that the excitement was over. “Come here.”

He did. He knelt down in front of her. She ran her hands through his hair. “Leave it alone.”

“I have to know.” He murmured.

“Why?” Rose asked.

“I...I was once at the bottom of a pit, in the dark, and a beast… the devil maybe and I said much the same as Clive had just now. I believe in Rose Tyler. That’s been a big part of me. Coming here, I had to live without that until you…” He smiled up at her with his rich dark eyes brimming with warmth. Rose's insides grew warm. “I like believing in Rose Tylers. Never been much for religion.” He placed his hands in hers. “I don’t want to be proven wrong.”

“Then burn it,” Rose suggested. “And I’m not a goddess to believe in.”

I beg to differ,” he teased. “Have you seen your bum?”

“Shut up. Seriously though, we’re safe. We’re together. Whatever you want to do with that letter is fine by me. Read it. Bury it. Burn it, I don’t care.” She did care a little bit. A tiny jealous part of her would like to see the other Rose deposed but it was only a tiny part. Anyone who inspired loyalty in her friends and family like the original Rose had, was probably, maybe, possibly someone worth believing in.

“I might burn it. But let’s get you back into bed.” He opened his arms. Rose threw her arms around his neck and let him carry her back to the bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed and jumped in after her. “Let’s sleep on it. We’ve got our whole lives together to work it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might be one more part unless I decide to do a bonus chapter for extra fluff. Thanks for reading! I know I've been slow with the updates!


	27. At Loose Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We hear from the original Rose

He was the last fish. The loneliest fish. Swimming back and forth in the tank, he counted the plants one… two… three… He swam in circles and circles and circles. Sometimes fish flakes fell down from the sky. Where were all the other fish? Why was his world three plants that tasted weird and tasty flakes?

He watched the TALL things outside his world go by. A few stopped to startle him by tapping on the clear barrier of his world. But they never brought any more fish. He had been in a school when he was very tiny and one by one the school had been scooped up in nets and taken away.

A large eye spotted him. One of the TALL things watched him. He watched back. “Look at you all alone. I know a nice coral that needs a friend. What do you say, mate, eh?”

Rose was awake. The sun was sinking. Slivers of golden light slipped across the floor. The Doctor was sleeping beside her, muttering fitfully. The letter was on the nightstand. He was no doubt dreaming about its contents. Rose’s own brain was focused on the DVD and what exactly one Rose Tyler had to say to another. Rose bit her lip. Her eyes darted to the Doctor then to the door. Puffing out a breath, she decided. She needed to see what Rose had to say but she wouldn’t subject the Doctor to any more pain by making him watch her.

Hissing as her bare feet touched the cold hardwood floors. Maybe Jackie Tyler had something with the idea of a bear rug. Well, no, gross. But that didn’t mean she was opposed to heating in the floor or a soft round rug to ease her way… The Doctor grumbled. Rose spun to see him roll onto her side and shove his face into her pillow. Rose resisted the intense urge to climb back into that warm bed with him. If only he didn’t sleep less than her. If only they hadn’t promised to spend all their time together… If… If… this weren’t the perfect opportunity to watch the DVD alone.

She closed the door behind her. The living room was silent. The Tardis must be sleeping too. She glanced over at the coral’s room. There were no deep thoughts lingering. Rose couldn’t risk a cup of tea no matter how much she needed one right now. Her time was limited. She had a feeling the moment the bed lost her warmth, he’d be in here. She smirked, feeling sneaky as she pulled the nondescript CD from its plain white wrapper and slipped it into the DVD player.

Rose stared at the blank screen. She was going to lose her nerve if she thought about it for another second. She slapped the play button. 

The camera flicked on in an extreme close up of her own eye. “I can never get this stupid thing to… Oh, it’s on! Oops!” The Rose on camera pulled back. Rose gasped. It was one thing to be told you were a clone, it was another to see it on screen. Original Rose Tyler’s hair did have dark roots. It was also professionally cut, shiny and blonde. She smiled at the camera. “S’weird, isn’t it? I look like you… I am you. Helloo Rose Tyler,” she chuckled awkwardly. “Right, we’ve only got about two minutes before the Doctor shows up wondering what you’re up to.” She flashed a bright grin. She was dressed in dark jeans, a fuschia top with a dark bluey-purple jacket over it. She had understated makeup and gold earrings. Rose’s heart sank. She looked powerful and put together. She glanced down at herself in the Doctor’s oversized PJs. 

“No, don’t do that. You’re amazing!” Rose Tyler said. 

“Do what?” 

“Compare us,” the TV responded. “You're brilliant! You did what I couldn’t do. You saved him,” Her face softened. “Right, gotta get this out. I have a date with a very large gun and an even larger destiny.” She ran a hand over her face, letting out a shaky breath. “Rose, a year ago my time, I ended up on a planet with two suns and an orange sky. While I was there, I looked into something… It… I can’t remember it. S’like my mind opened and it hurt. It hurt so much.” The Original Rose Tyler bit her lip. “I dreamed about him… your Doctor.” Rose’s large eyes were so sad. “I was supposed to stay with him, originally… that was the,” Rose Tyler grimaced, “other Doctor’s plan. S’practically immortal, him and a stupid idiot about me… He thought it’d be better if I had my mum and dad and Tony.”

Rose agreed with that other Doctor. She couldn’t imagine leaving her entire family behind and she barely knew them. 

“He might have been right, but I wasn’t… exactly able to anymore. See, the thing is, Rose that I once looked into the heart of the Tardis and it changed me somehow. And it was fine, yeah? It was good because the Doctor, he saved me from it but that planet… Triggered it or reactivated it or I don’t know.”

Rose couldn’t meet the intense look in her own eyes, especially when those eyes were thousands of years older than hers. She instead looked beyond her to the same flat she was in. It was much the same, except Rose could see two glowing cubes on the coffee table that Rose was leaning against. Also, the armchair didn’t have the burn in it yet.

“...I was healing faster. I got headaches… nightmares… timelines.”

Rose’s eyes snapped back to...Rose Tyler’s sad eyes. “It took me ages to figure out that I wasn’t seeing the two-hearted Doctor. I was seeing had only one. And then he started dying…First Sean dissected him. Then Suzie poisoned him. Then there was this incident with a Weevil… then he was shot by… doesn’t matter.” The Rose on screen sniffed, her eyes clouded over with bad memories. Rose felt her heart go out to that other Rose. “Sometimes I was there and we both died. Sometimes it was him alone and he died. He kept dying. I kept dying. I kept trying. So many different ways. I kept trying to make it work I think in my head...So many different potential timelines. I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t…” Original Rose Tyler’s eyes flicked up tears escaping her ancient eyes. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t save you, Doctor.”

Rose turned, guilt blazing in her chest to see the Doctor standing there in bare feet, his striped pajamas skimming his ankles and his wrinkled soft cotton tee making him look vulnerable. His expression was unreadable. A muscle in his jaw twitched. He had her letter open in his hands.

“I started setting off alarms and changin’ more and more. Tosh kept a file. She’ll show it to you if you ask her. I told her to put one of my EKGs in Rose’s file, Doctor… Anyway,” the Original Rose looked back to where Rose was sitting. Rose shivered. She must have seen this too in a dream. That was terrifying. “Rose there’s so many things I want to tell you but Mickey’s waiting and the Doctor’s waiting an’ Mum is going to go with us despite me and Pete trying to stop her,” a chuckle escaped her. “So, I decided if I couldn’t stay that I also couldn’t leave him alone. He’s not good on his own.”

“I’m not,” the Doctor agreed, voice thick with emotion, “I’m really not.” He crossed the room to sit on the floor next to her. Rose leaned into him.

“But, you had to do what I couldn’t, so I arranged for my memory matrix to fail.”

“Why?” Rose asked the TV.

“So, you’d have a chance to be you, not me,” Rose Tyler answered and her eyes cut to the two cubes behind her on the table. “Give you enough time to make your own choices. It’s not fair to make you into me… You’re your own person. And look at you! You saved the doctor. S’good isn’t it? I do it a lot but you never forget the first time you save him. Sort of come over all smug. He thinks he’s so impressive.” 

The Doctor’s arm snaked around her, pulling her close.

“Understand, everything is your choice, Rose Tyler. This life… s’hard. S’amazing too. The Doctor is…” Her eyes flicked to where the Doctor was now. “You’re jeopardy friendly, you are. And if I could have been the one to save you, I would have...” Tears leaked down her face, Rose’s face and she felt her own eyes fill with tears. “But… I…” Rose Tyler broke off, glancing away. “Anyhow,” she said, wiping the tears away with her fingers. “If you want the memories, they’ll come to you slowly over the next several months. That way you can be yourself by the time all of my memories get in there… And my recent memories will be last so you can skip them… If you don’t want them, take the memory matrix I hid in that arm chair you’re leaning on and put it in Dad’s safe or smash it. Doctor,”

The Doctor shifted.

“You got my letter.”

“Yeah, yep, although there’s no point in me answering you since you’re a recording and not here. Bit stupid to…”

“Shut up,” the Rose on screen said with a watery laugh. “I’d say goodbye but we’re about to meet.” She grinned brightly. “I could burn up a sun…”

The Doctor sniffed. “Nah.” he said as she said, “Nah…”

“Goodbye Rose Tyler.” The Rose on screen said.

“Goodby Rose Tyler,” she echoed.

The Rose on screen smiled. The screen went black. The Doctor let out a long shaky breath. “Her letter to me was just…” He handed it to her.

Rose took it from him. “S’list of names…” she flipped to the second page. “What’s this?”

“Coordinates… It’s longitude and latitude for something,” he said with a shrug.

The third page said, “Flip this page over after.”

“Did you?” Rose asked.

“Um, no, it wasn’t ah… over.” the Doctor took the last sheet back from her and flipped it over. There were the weird swirls, dots, and clockwork-y things the Doctor had scribbled on paper everywhere. He puffed out a breath. “Oh, ohhhhh, that’s brilliant! Oh, oh, oh wow.”

“What is it? What does it say?” Rose asked.

“It won’t mean anything to you…” The Doctor said, “But this says a friend of mine… She was ill when I got her… This says she was going to be fine. S’long story. I’ll tell you all about it and her one day, not today…” the Doctor smiled softly at the paper. “She also said goodbye.”

Rose leaned into him. “She wasn’t what I expected.” 

“What did you expect?” 

“The way everybody talks about her, I thought she’d be sort of like a superhero. Maybe wear a cape or somethin’ but she was so sad and…”

“Human,” the Doctor said with a little bit of awe. “She’s so human.”

“I can see why…” You love her, she thought.

“So,” the Doctor drawled. “Do you want me to get rid of her memories? I can scan for it. Give it to Jackie. I could put it in a snowglobe…” he babbled on with several more options for Rose Tyler's memories and All Rose could think about was how awful it must have been to see the Doctor die over and over again! What must that have done to the other Rose? There was no way she could survive that. And...did she want those memories? Did she want any of those memories? Yeah, but also… she wanted to remember her mother. She wanted to know who Mickey was really. But… did she want to be that Rose? More importantly, did the Doctor want her to only be that Rose? “Oh, I don’t know! What do you want me to do?” Rose asked him.

He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and turned her to face him. His eyes were wide and as ageless as the woman she was on that screen. “Rose Tyler, I can't make that decision for you. I won’t. It has to be your choice. Say no and I’ll take the memories away from here. I won’t be angry either way. I won’t be unhappy either way. Rose, I’m happy right here, right now with you, and Ian, and the Tardis. I don’t need anything more than that…”

That was true. She felt it in her bones. Rose sagged with relief. She smirked. “You don’t need anything else?”

“I might need tea… few bananas, occasional chips, a birthday present for Tony, a hug…” 

Rose hugged him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this can be considered the end but there are still a few things that I'm going to tie up in the next one. Thanks for reading. Let me know how you like it.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas and the Bad Wolf has one last present.

Clive stood on a platform surrounded by bright lights. Alarms sounding all around him. Rose had stepped in front of him with her hands up. Nice gesture. Clive was much taller than Rose Tyler and if they wanted to shoot him, they had a clear shot at his head. “Shut the alarms off! Shut them down. S’fine. He’s with me. He’s human you shits.”

The lights shut off, leaving Clive blind, blinking as his eyes attempted to adjust. The air smelled funny like ozone and stale...well...farts. A tall thin man, with a bit of ginger hair left stepped forward. “Rose, what the hell are we supposed to do with him? I said no.”

That was the wrong thing to say. The blonde seemed to grow taller as she faced this universe’s Pete Tyler. “Yeah, well, I said yes. He was going to die. I couldn’t just leave him.”

“He’s dead here.”

Clive winced. Well, at least there wouldn’t be any awkward conversations with alternate Clives for him.

“Yeah, well so am I. We buried the dog, remember?” 

Pete winced. “I guess we can leverage a new identity for him. Ship him off to Cardiff?”

“Nah,” Rose turned back to grin at him. “He’s with me. He’s a genius. He can be on my team. C’mon Clive, let’s get you a good stiff drink.”

“Rose…” Pete glanced behind him at the people with clipboards and lab coats. He waved them back, lowering his voice into a harsh whisper, “You can’t just bring home strays, love.”

Rose stepped off the platform, ignoring her father, focused on him. “Welcome to Pete’s World, Clive. There’s no queen, no Manhattan’s, and you now work for Torchwood. Say hi to your new boss.”

“Erm, hello?” Clive offered the elder Tyler his hand.

“Yeah, welcome aboard mate.” Pete Tyler said, clasping his in a firm grip. Good grip. Strong leader grip. And it definitely didn’t hurt that no one was pointing a gun at him anymore. Progress?

“Pete’s World?” he asked for want of anything else to say.

“Yeah, suppose it is. Better get that drink, mate, paperwork, blood tests, and false identity in the morning.” Pete clapped him on the back warmly.

“Right, make it a double then.” 

Rose laughed.

Rose Tyler kicked the door open with her foot. Her arms were loaded with parcels, some wrapped and others in a large shopping tote. Before the door could close, the Doctor’s longer arm caught it. He only had one armload of gifts. It was Christmas in a few days and they’d spent the morning buying everything in every store just about. Rose dropped her stuff unceremoniously onto the coffee table before except for one present which she gripped in her bare hand having removed her glove for a better grip. Inside the clear plastic was a bright orange goldfish.

The Doctor pulled the bottles of wine out of his bag and dropped the red onto the pass as he moved to the kitchen to pop the white into the refrigerator. He spotted the fish which she had been deliberately keeping out of his line of sight. The smirk on his stupid face told her he’d noticed and was waiting for her to show her hand so to speak. He was entirely too clever, her Doctor. “What’s with the fish? Did you get Tony a live present? No fair! I was goin’ to get him a tiger and your mother told me no live animals without her permission.” He tsk-tsked. “You’ll get the slap!”

Rose snorted, rolling her eyes at him. It was almost Christmas and Rose Tyler was six months old and twenty-five? Being a clone was complicated! The Doctor was going over 900 years old and also had just turned one. The world was a very strange place. Her memories had come slowly, trickling in and slotting into place as if they’d always been there. They weren’t overpowering. She hadn’t felt any different. Each memory had just made her feel fuller. She had already fallen in love with her family and friends. The memories just confirmed why she loved them. One day she had woken up in a cold sweat, terrified that she was alone, and felt a cold white wall under her hands. The memories had stopped coming after that. Rose supposed the original Rose Tyler hadn’t wanted Rose to suffer through them. Still, she hadn’t let the Doctor go farther than the loo by himself that day. He hadn’t asked. But when she hugged him, he hugged her back a little tighter. 

“No, no, I didn’t,” Rose argued, holding up the fish who was lazily swimming in circles in the plastic bag. “No live pets for Tony. Although he does love Ian… Maybe I should have gotten him a fish?” She eyed the fish in askance.

“Then, I repeat: What’s with the fish?” He drawled ‘fish’ to add some gravitas. He left the kitchen to pick at the pile of parcels, no doubt trying to get a sneak peek. She hissed at him. Offended, he sniffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. Living together had been an adventure. He cuddled like a champion, he sulked like a child, he was brilliant and funny and prone to mood swings. Rose had remembered that about his personality too late to save them from a few rows. But Rose thought she might love him more than ever. His expression warmed. “You’re staring at me with the… with your eyes all…” he trailed off, “gooey.”

Rose kept the fish held aloft. She glanced toward the Tardis room. The tank had been expanded all along one wall. It was the largest tank money could buy. The branches escaped the water and twisted over the sides, grabbing onto lighting fixtures dripping down the bookcases. Some tendrils had escaped the room and were latching onto the ceiling. The flat always felt pensive now as the Tardis developed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Am not. Wait? Why am I ridiculous? Because I don’t know why you’re standing in the middle of our flat holding a fish aloft and oh… Oh, I get it! You’ve gotten the Tardis another fish! Or you’ve… you’ve gotten Ian a girlfriend. Rose…” he warned, “you could be accidentally creating the 5th and Bountiful Goldfish Age.” He sounded dire but his lip was curled up.

“I’ll take my chances.” 

“You could become their god by accident,” he teased as Ian appeared in his bubble. He made a beeline for the plastic bag. He circled the fish in the bag. His fins were incredible now, the tips taking on the look of long delicate fingers. The Doctor muttered something in Gallifreyan. Ian disappeared. The fish in the bag was surrounded by gold motes before she too was gone. “Too late now… the Tardis has her.” He glanced over his shoulder at the other room. “You’ve done it now. New species created. The Tardis has named her Barbara by the way…”

Rose put her bag of water down. “Barbara?”

The Doctor winked. “Ian & Barbara were the first humans to travel with me. School teachers. You would’ve liked them.” He puffed out a breath. “We’ll have to find their children a nice water planet… if I ever get the material part of the Tardis built.”

“Did you find any more useful parts?” she asked, separating the ‘not for the Doctor’ presents from the ‘Doctor’ presents. She’d wrap his later when he was distracted working on the Tardis. The Doctor shrugged. “I’ve got a few of the important bits for navigation but what I really need is a shell designed to hold her. Something like that is going to take more time than I’d like.” He collapsed on the armchair, tapping the burn mark. He dug his fingers into it and pulled the blackened cube from it. He tossed it onto the coffee table. “Ah! Thought so! You’re all done marinating, Rose Tyler. You remember as much as you’re ever going to… How does your head feel?”

“Full,” Rose retorted, “unlike yours which is full of fluff.” And insecurities. While they lived together, and they shared a bed, the Doctor had been holding off on the romance. Rose knew it was to give her time. And she knew it had a lot to do with when she shouted at him at three days old. But it was getting old fast. Rose had a few choice new purchases to show him if and when he ever got his head out of his arse.

There was a knock at the door.

The Doctor sat up, “Uh oh, here comes trouble.”

“It’s not my mother,” Rose said, “it’s Clive. Said he had a Christmas present for us. And you love my mum.” she accused.

“How dare you,” he quipped, dropping a quick kiss to the top of her hair as he went to answer the door. “She loves me.” He pulled open the door before she could retort. “Clive Finch how the hell are you?”

The Donna in him, honestly, Rose thought, smirking. When her memories returned, there were some random ones from after the white wall. They were all about Donna Noble, the red-haired woman who had saved the world. Rose had been disoriented by them and the feeling of them. But she was glad they were there to explain some of the Doctor’s behavior that was familiar to her as new Rose but baffling to her memories from old Rose. Shame, they hadn’t cloned her too. Rose shoved the lingerie box to the bottom of her bag underneath the presents for Jackie.

“Doctor, Rose, cheers,” he said, slipping into the room. He had become a regular at their flat. Rose had no memory of meeting him but he had filled her in and they had become fast friends, unlike Jake who was still distant but warming up by the day. Rose thought it freaked him out when she had begun to remember him. Luckily she had gotten some dimension-hopping memories but they had been heavily edited leaving dangling, tantalizing bits that made her not the same as her original and irritated her but that Rose could keep her secrets and her two-hearted Doctor. 

“Going to the mansion with us, Clive?” the Doctor asked hopefully, tugging at his ear. “Everyone who is fancy and rich will be there. Good time to perfect our pickpocketing skills…?”

Clive laughed warmly, moving into the kitchen to make everyone tea. Rose stood up and walked over to give him a hand. He waved her off. “Yes, I am. This is my best jumper.”

The Doctor grinned, winking at Rose. The Doctor was in a sleek silver pinstripe gray suit. He had wanted to wear a red velvet one but Jackie had said no to Skinny Slutty Santa. The Doctor had blanched then turned beet red. Rose not-so-secretly loved the red velvet suit. He still had a darker red velvet tie on as a tiny rebellion. “I like it. Very warm. What brings you over?”

“Christmas present from a friend,” Clive said, handing the Doctor a piece of paper.

The Doctor pulled out his glasses, settling them on the bridge of his nose. “These are coordinates…” Rose bit her lip. She loved his glasses. She’d like to see him in nothing but those glasses. He glanced over as if sensing her admiration. He arched a brow. Rose arched one back. He smirked. “I know these coordinates. They were in my letter with the list of people trying to kill us.” He pointed to the fridge where a banana magnet held up the list with several names slashed out.

Clive sighed, repeating his good advice, “You really shouldn’t leave that out.”

“It’s for Rose, so she remembers. I’ve memorized it. What are these coordinates for, Clive? When I looked them up on the atrocious mapping program it came up an empty warehouse. Do I need my sonic?”

Clive handed Rose a mug of tea. The Doctor grabbed his and the sugar bowl. He pulled out his timelines guide. “Take the Doctor and Rose to these coordinates. Merry Christmas!”

“Rose’s handwriting,” the Doctor confirmed, grimly. “When will her prophecies end eh? She’s worse than the Sisterhood of Karn… No, that’s not fair. She’s saved our lives.” He glanced away from them both, jaw tightening. 

Rose took the book out of the Doctor’s hands. “There’s nothing else in here,” she remarked, flipping the pages. “The rest is empty.”

Clive smiled. “Right. After this, I am just your friend, not the hand of the Bad Wolf. Unless it’s you, Rose.”

Rose showed him her teeth. The Doctor took the notebook, snapped it shut, and tossed it across the room. “No, no, no, no, no, none of that. No Bad Wolf for you,” he ordered, wagging a finger at her. Rose growled and snapped at his finger. “I’m serious. All the tests I’ve run say you’re mostly normal… but too many magical moments and you might...change. Or worse…”

She caught his hand, tangling their fingers. She squeezed them, He squeezed back. “Those tests were inconclusive. That other Rose didn’t mention it at all, so s’fine. Now let’s go see her Christmas present.”

Clive clapped his hands. “Right, get your coats. Bring the presents… Ian if he wants to go. We can swing by the warehouse, then off to the party. I’m starved. Your mother promised me the same caterer as last year and there were these tiny cakes…” 

“Fine,” the Doctor bit out. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get our free will back. Allons-y!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied... there's another part after this. I think it's the last one. Who knows? Trying to get somewhere and the story is like, "Hey, how about a little more of this?"  
> I promise it's worth it. Gonna get some smooches in this story if I had to lock them in a closet.


	29. The End of Future Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last surprise for the couple.

The Doctor had nothing but the things in his pockets. Over a thousand years lived and he was reduced to one suit and a pocket full of leftovers. Pete led him to the lift in a modest block of flats not too far by bus from Canary Wharf. He ran a hand through his hair that it came away greasy. He frowned at his new biology. Regular showers had always been more of a luxury. Not anymore. He didn’t even have soap. Maybe he had soap? There was that bar of cucumber scented soap he had used to make a key on that planet with the… 

The lift openned and his train of thought evaporated. The long hall smelled like wood soap. How unfair that the floors had soap and he didn’t. The floor gleamed. He ducked out of the lift. There was only one singular door at the end. And it was his very favorite shade of blue; Tardis blue. His heart soared for a moment before plummeting into one of his stomachs. “This is Rose’s flat.”

He turned to Pete for confirmation. Pete had the grace to look embarrassed. “Yeah, it is. Look, Doctor, Rose isn’t using it anymore. It’s fully furnished. It’s bought and paid for and it keeps me from having to box everything up and sell it. ‘Sides, knowing Rose it’s probably full of all sorts of misappropriated alien tech a bloke like you might need. And if our Rose has all her memories, she won’t mind you crashing at hers.” He grimaced. All good points. The Doctor mulled that over for a moment too long because Pete began babbling, “Nevermind. It’s a bad idea. I can get you into one of the safe houses. You can nick your own alien tech…”

“No, no, no, no, it’s alright, Pete.” The Doctor walked down the hall soundlessly in his red trainers. “I’ve got nothing. A fully furnished flat would save Jackie a lot of hassle. Besides, I cannot have her decorating for me. Her taste is,” he rambled getting closer and closer to the door.

“Watch it, that’s my wife’s impeccable taste you are insulting,” Pete said, arching his brows mildly in reproach.

“Yeah, yes, well, that might be good for some people but I…” He shut up as Pete glared. “Lovely tastes, your wife, white sofa, glass coffee table…Brilliant.” He wavered and covered it by crashing shoulder first into the wall to hold himself up. This body needed food, sleep, a shower. It did not need more emotions to cycle through in rapid succession. 

Pete looked him over with a hint of pity. The Doctor offered him a fake smile. Pete let out a sigh and handed him the key. It felt heavy and cold in the Doctor’s hand. Somehow he’d expected a Yale key. This one was larger and more substantial. “Get some sleep, Doctor. I had the fridge stocked for you. Not sure what you eat, so there’s a selection. When you’re ready,” he pulled a mobile out of his pocket.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I do not need to be reachable!” The Doctor tried to avoid it but Pete pressed it into his hands.

“Non-negotiable. It’s that or a tracking chip. You’re an alien. You’re lucky only a few people know or you’d still be in the quarantine cells. Or worse. I’m programmed in there. So is Jackie, Jake, and Clive Finch. Do not let that go flat. Understood?”

The Doctor sniffed. He wanted to say, “Yes,” and then toss the mobile out a window. But he was human-ish now. Humans carried communicators… to communicate. He nodded once, letting the mobile disappear into his pocket. “Thanks for this.” he indicated the door and all the stuff beyond it.

“Take care of our girl and we’ll call it even.” They shook hands. The Doctor nodded, accepting responsibility for the girl in the tube. He would do everything he could for any Rose Tyler anywhere.

Pushing the door open as soon as Pete was going down in the lift. The scent of Rose slapped him in the face. Like dust mores in sunshine drifting. Against his will, his muscles loosened. There was a mat by the door with a pile of trainers, a pair of heels, and a pair of pink fluffy bunny slippers. Smiling, he kicked his off, lining them up with Rose’s. Before he could process the complex bittersweet emotions of his trainers lined up next to her in her flat without her, he tipped over onto her couch, falling asleep surrounded by the rich scent of Rose, the scent of home.

Lots of people were dressed to the nines on the tube. Everyone was determined to do this Christmas up it seemed. Rose’s dress was sequined and a rich dark blue. It wasn’t long enough to keep her calves warm. So, Rose let the Doctor hold onto the bar, so she could steal his warmth. Not that it was unusual for her to hang onto him. He looped an arm around her to stabilize her. She didn’t need stabilization. He knew it. She knew it. Clive knew it from where he stood across from them smiling. “You know, don’t you?” 

Clive’s smile slipped. “Know what?”

“You’re smug. You don’t seem uncertain or nervous. You know where we’re going and you know what’s there, don’t you?” Rose asked, reaching out to poke him playfully. 

“You are smug,” the Doctor confirmed. “Why go through all the trouble of public transportation if you know where we’re going? Why not tell us over biscuits and tea at Jackie’s? She’s going to have a cocktail hour and we’re going to miss the little pigs in blankets!” 

Rose tickled him to avoid the oncoming pout. “It’s fine. One last thing from the other me, remember? Then we’re on our own.”

“Good,” the Doctor grumbled. 

“Everything that’s been mapped out was to avoid your death. Try and remember that, Doctor,” Clive admonished. “It was hard for all of us. I’m a shit liar. I had to learn deception. Me!”

Rose giggled. The Doctor smirked then frowned. “Oh, it’s not that I don’t think it’s for our own good. It chafes.”

“You’ll have to excuse him, he’s a Time Lord. Pretentious lot. He’s the one that likes to know the future s’all about the ego on this one,” Rose teased.

The Doctor slipped his hand from around her to catch her hand as they headed off the train and up to the street. The weather was cold enough for Rose to wrap her scarf tighter around her neck. The Doctor gave a little shiver. He couldn’t control his body temperature anymore. Rose had thought he was lying until some memories clicked in with him on a frozen world in a black leather jacket that wouldn’t keep a person warm in a breeze. “Where to?” she asked the men.

Clive grinned. “You’re off down that way.”

“And you?” the Doctor asked.

“I’ll be waiting over there,” he said pointing to a Pret’s across the way.

“Their coffee is worse than well, what coffee normally tastes like.”

“Yeah, and it’s ten times better than the Pret’s in my universe. What does that tell you?” Clive grinned.

“That you came from a hellscape?” the Doctor offered.

“Oi, rude!” Rose tugged on him. “We need to keep moving before I freeze solid. Sure you don’t want to come?”

“Oh, I do,” Clive agreed, “But you won’t need or want me there. Go on. Hurry back so we can get good coffee at the mansion, alright?” Clive’s eyes twinkled as she stuffed his bear paws into his hands and walked across the street hunched against the wind.

The Doctor tugged her along, his teeth chattering. “This world is bouncing back nicely from the damage the reality bomb did. Too nicely. Winters are going to be chilly monsters going forward.” He continued rambling on about the weather. Rose watched the people going by. A lot of them had the look of harried last-minute shoppers. Rose smiled at everyone.

They ducked down a dark alley. “This seems safe,” Rose remarked. Her fingers itched for a gun. She shook the feeling away. The Other had trained with weapons. Her hands knew what to do with them but it wasn’t for her. She didn’t want that part of her life back. UNIT had been surprisingly on board with it after the purge of people on the refrigerator list. “Seriously, though, is this a trap?”

“Oh, come on Rose Tyler! Where’s your sense of adventure, eh?” he shouted. The alley was swirling with bits of paper, wrappers, and empty crisp packets. “This is a dry run for some of the most interesting planets. They’re all a bit grungy. And aren’t you the least bit curious what sort of present you’d leave yourself?” Before she could weigh her options, they were at a large black wall with a giant barred door. The Doctor didn’t hesitate, sonicking it. Instead of opening the door, a panel slid open with a keypad. “Ooooh, look at you, you beauty! I guess we didn’t want any old aliens opening this lock, now did we?” 

“What language is that?” Rose asked, peering at the symbols. 

“Low Gallifreyan… The ‘circles and clockworks’ as your mother calls them are the fancy calligraphy language. This is the day to day one for less time-sensitive… things. I like this sort of security. What’s the password, Rose?” he asked.

Rose wanted to ask, ‘how should I know?’ and what came out was, “New Earth.” She blinked.

“Ha!” he booped her nose. “Pre Programmed response.” He tapped it in and the screen lit up green. A second panel opened up in the circles and clockworks. The Doctor reached out and spun some of the circles until it turned gold. The barred door slid left. He pulled his sonic out again, took her hand, and they entered the dark warehouse. The door slammed shut behind them.

Rose jumped, spinning to face the door. When she turned back, banks of lights were coming on one by one. The light appeared from the outer edges of the wide empty space illuminating gray cement floors until the lights hit a large ring. The ring lit up drawing all eyes to the center. Oh, and in that center was… “The Tardis!”

She rushed forward only to be caught by the Doctor. “Steady, it’s not her, it’s not the Tardis,” he breathed in her ear. “Listen, no hum up here.” He tapped her temple and for a second she felt a buzz. “That, Rose Tyler, is a dead Tardis.” His voice was low, reverent, and sad.

They approached slowly, circling the ring. “How did she get here?” Rose asked him.

“Donna told me,” the Doctor began, voice still soft and low, “she had been in a pocket universe… I had died.” Rose closed her eyes and saw a body on a gurney. Pain lanced through her insides. The Doctor caught her fingers, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m alright. I didn’t stay dead. Time can be rewritten, well, sometimes when Rose Tyler is there.” He smiled at her with warmth. He glanced back at the Police Box. “She must have taken her. Used what was left of her to create a rudimentary time machine. But she had to be dead for that. The Tardis would never have stood for that, not even for you.”

“Why would she show us this,” Rose demanded, feeling hot with anger. “It’s so sad!”

“Death is always sad,” the Doctor remarked, “Everything ends…” He patted the shell.

Rose turned it over and over. The woman she was in her memories was compassionate, not cruel. She was also incredibly resourceful. “Wait, oh wait. I get it.” Rose felt a rush of excitement. She bit her lip to suppress a giggle at his confused face. She could kiss him. She tapped the wood and grinned. “This is just an empty shell now, right? There’s no coral left? No Tardis...in there?” she asked, leading him. 

“Well, there’s all the systems a Tardis would need to allow me to control time travel like fluid links, harmonic interface, telepathic circuits, helmic regulator, food machines full of protein bars all the flavor of mint.” He grimaced. “But there’s nothing alive in there. I’d know. I’d hear her. She’s gone. And Tardis shells are not Tardises without the well, living breathing interdimensional being we’re growing in our flat. See, the systems are specifically built to be run by the sentient part, by the person part, not like most nonorganic vehicles. No human, or no Time Lord for that matter, could sail the time winds like the Tardis. They were born knowing time... They can’t run without a living component without… Oh.” The ‘oh’ came out soft and reverent. “Oh,” he repeated, dragging out the ‘o’s for a long exhale. He faced her, “Key. key. We need a key… Don’t suppose you put yours back on in a fit of nostalgia?”

“I never had one… She is probably wearing it,” Rose said.

“No matter...if I know me and the one thing I know is me…” The Doctor reached up above the ‘P’, searching with his long fingers. “Please, please, please, yes!” He retrieved the small silver key. “Spare key!” 

Bouncing forward, he bussed her lips with the quickest of kisses. A shock of energy ran through her. Grinning, he popped the key into the lock. With a practiced twist, the door gave way. Taking Rose’s hand again, he walked her into the Tardis. 

The lights were out. The room was eerie in blue light of the sonic and it was too silent like a tomb. No hum greeted her. Rose touched the console. “It’s cold.”

“It’s dead…,” the Doctor remarked, popping open a section Rose knew all too well. “Empty. No Tardis. No dust, no anything. Bet if you touched that coral strut it would feel calcified instead of all warm.” He closed the lid and flipped a few switches. “She’ll need a new power relay. Being dead this long will have killed most of the power sources. Well, I can scrounge for those. And the fluid links have probably evaporated. We can get mercury on Earth so that’s sorted. I’m going to need a laundry list of things,” he muttered, pulling off a panel and climbing into the guts of the Tardis. “Oof, what was other me thinking in that pocket dimension? Someone’s left a bunch of bananas down here. Look! They’re desiccated! And there’s a mug of tea down here that might be sentient. Oooh, cables.”

Rose was in the dark. The Doctor had the sonic and she could see it flickering around under the console. She felt so strange. The nostalgia of this room was strong. The scent reminded her of the tank in their flat with some metal/ozone scent layered in with the dust. She walked over to the jump seats. Sitting down she cycled through every time she had sat here. Only, this was the first time. She had never been in a Tardis. She had never opened the Tardis and seen its heart. Another Rose had done that but she had the memories. She knew what the coral strut felt like. She knew what this place should sound like. She knew what it felt like when it was floating in the vortex. 

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feeling of a live Tardis. Imagining the strange green light, she could make out the details as if they were actually there. Her mind tingled. The tingle felt as if she were sending out a call or she was a beacon. A light appeared. It was Ian. His bubble glowed in the dark as he zoomed around the console room. They paused long enough for her to notice the second fish in the bubble with him. 

“Doctor, Ian’s here,” she called.

“Is he? Good,” the Doctor said and let off a string of Gallifreyan. He scrambled to come out from under the console. Ian came to him. The Doctor opened up the console. His tone was enthusiastic as he explained something to the fish. “Hallo Barbara! Better keep you away from the Aztecs eh?”

The Doctor beamed Rose. The fish vanished. The Doctor bounced over to her. “This is brilliant.”

“Are you going to scavenge it for parts?” she asked. Rose had thought he might want to move the coral in here but what if he didn’t want to and just wanted to dismantle this one? She was left feeling sad that their Tardis when completed wouldn’t be the same as this one, her home that she’d never gotten to live in.

“Nope.” His eyes glittered in the semi-dark. 

“Then…”

The Doctor’s lip curled up. He caged her in on the jump seat. Rose felt the shift in his mood and bit her lip. “What are we going to do?” she asked, hoping.

“We’re going to install a Tardis coral into this Tardis shell. And that’s going to save us years, decades of scavenging,” he leaned in practically whispering the words into her ear. “We’re going to have a fully functioning time ship in a year, no, less than a year. Six months if I’m very good.”

“You are,” Rose said.

He tongue clicked at her, winking. “I am,” he agreed, “very good.”

Rose shivered. “She’ll be okay with moving into a dead shell?”

“Ian showing up is a good sign. She’s curious. I can work with curiosity. She’s got some more growing to do first. And, now I know why Clive didn’t want to come with us.” His eyes were hot.

“Why?” Rose asked, as her heart sped up.

“Rose,” he purred, “I’ve been patient.”

“Patient?” Rose parroted. 

He nodded. “I waited. And waited. And waited for you to make a move.” He was closer now. Rose could smell the scent of tea, her shampoo, and that lovely alien scent that drifted around him, always. She felt a little dizzy at his proximity.

Rose swallowed, feeling hot all over. Was he--? Now? Wait… “You’ve been waiting for me to make a move?”

He nodded. Rose had been waiting for him to make a move. She laughed. Offended, he pulled back. “Noooo,” she caught his hands and patiently put them back where they were, caging her in. Rose ran a hand down his oxford. “We’re idiots.”

He pouted. Rose tugged at his bowtie, pulling it loose. His gaze dipped to it then to her lips then finally, puzzled, he looked into her eyes. Rose unbuttoned his top button. “I was waiting for you to make a move. I finally got frustrated and bought some interesting undergarments.”

A brow arched. “Are you wearing them now?” He gave her a once over like he could x-ray her party dress to see her knickers underneath.

“No… they’re not very practical,” she confessed.

“Oh, I need to see them. Wait, I could have, we could have...” the Doctor asked, incredulously.

“Well, I’ve been dropping hints for a while now.” Rose undid another button.

“I am so thick. When you cuddled up to me the other night…” the Doctor slid his arms up to settle on her thighs. Rose could feel the heat radiating from his palms to her skin. “Rose… I am the thickest, the dullest dunce, the…”

Rose pulled him in by his jacket lapels, gently tugging him down low enough to press her lips against his. That was all it took for him to break. The Doctor kissed back with all the enthusiasm of someone too long denied a treat. His hands slid up her body, one wrapping around her lower back and the other sliding up to cradle her face. Rose framed his body with her legs, using her feet to pull him flush against her. 

The slightly cooler pressure of his lips moving against hers was maddening. He made the most gratifying noises as he broke the kiss to take a breath before diving back in for a proper snog. The taste of the tea he drank before leaving home hit her as they deepened the kiss into something Clive definitely wouldn’t want to have seen. Rose groaned, resisting the urge to ruin his artfully styled hair by tugging it. He had the same issue, resisting her hair to rest a hand on her neck as he did his level best to map out the inside of her mouth, tickling the roof of her mouth. The Doctor half crawled onto the jumpseat with her, pressing as much of their bodies together as he could on the narrow seat. Rose felt a buzzing in her head as his fingers brushed her temples. 

Rose was hit with surprise, interest, pleasure, curiosity glowing blue and silver on the edges of her mind before the Doctor gentled the snog back to a few chaste presses against her mouth. She closed her eyes. He kissed each of her eyelids. Rose leaned all of her weight against him, encouraging him to come back. Groaning in frustration, he pulled away, panting. “We have a party to go to.”

“I thought this was the party,” Rose said, panting, flushed, and ruffled. He snorted. Rose loved the way he looked flushed, shirt half unbuttoned, bowtie undone, and looking thoroughly snogged. Her lippy was smudge around his mouth and his cheeks were pink. His eyes were hot, half-mast, and impossibly black. 

“Minx,” he grumbled. “We can continue this later in our warm bed.” His breath appeared in the cold air of the dead Tardis. “You can wear something impractical. Or nothing.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to be traveling in a Tardis in a matter of months,” Rose told him as she buttoned his shirt and re-tied his bow tie. She patted his chest.

“Oh, I can. Rose Tyler it’s where we belong. We can do this normal human life. We can. And we’re good at it. I want to watch Tony grow up. I want to spend time with your family and Clive and maybe make some of our own new friends. Oh! Oh and Christmas! Proper Christmas with the food and the presents and the decorations…”

Rose patted his shoulders. “Sounds terribly domestic.”

“Hm, yes but on weekends, and Thursday nights and every odd Tuesdays or every evening for an hour or in the middle of boring meetings at work, we can nip out into the universe.” He wrapped his hands around her waist, allowing her to dab at the lipstick smudges.

“I don’t know, that sounds pretty domestic to me…” Rose teased.

“Nah,” he drawled, “Well, maybe a smidge. Is that alright?”

Rose pretended to consider it. She hadn’t actually ever saved the universe before. Her memories suggested it was dangerous and brilliant and she’d love it. “Yeah, s’long as we save the universe at least once a month.”

He spun her out of the jump seat in a big bear hug. “Oh, twice on Sundays!”

“C’mon, we’re going to be so late for Mum’s party.”

“I’m not that domestic,” he grumbled.

Clive stood waiting for them. “Ready?”

They stood before him hand in hand. “Yeah,” Rose Tyler said, “for everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end. Thanks for reading. If you want an epilogue let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fun idea my upstairs neighbor had. She was focused on Rose leaving with Ten but as per usual I was more obsessed with Tentoo and how he would handle being left behind. Also, I can't stand him not having his own Rose. Every Doctor needs one. I normally finish stories completely before posting but you're all stuck inside for a bit, so enjoy.


End file.
